SPR: Understanding Financial Data

Cautions

Revenue and cost data, by itself, cannot indicate the extent or quality of particular district's educational program. Users of these data are encouraged to pursue the reasons for revenue and cost differentials between districts.
WINSS data about revenue and cost are accurate as of the date of Web posting and are unaudited so may differ slightly from audited data. Totals on WINSS and other sources might also differ (by up to several dollars) due to rounding. WINSS rounds raw amounts only once at the final reported figures. On some other reports, amounts are rounded at an earlier step and summed to final reported figures.

What is membership?

Membership is the sum of (1) pupils who reside in the district and attend school in the district and (2) pupils who reside in the district and attend school out-of-district, adjusted for full time equivalency. Pupils attending school out-of-district include pupils who are placed in programs in another district for whom the district of residence is paying tuition, pupils attending out-of-district under chapter 220 or open enrollment, and students enrolled in CESA-operated programs. Aid membership is the average of the membership on the 3rd Friday in September and the second Friday in January, plus the full-time-equalivent summer school and group/foster home pupils.

How is membership different from enrollment?

Enrollment is a head count at a point in time based on where a pupil attends school. Membership is a head count adjusted for full-time-equivalency and is based on where a pupil resides.

Membership is used for school finance purposes. Enrollment is used for school and district performance reports when accountability for student behaviors and outcomes are the primary purposes. Differences in the purposes of these two counts affect which students count for which districts and whether or how much each student counts.

How are Comparative Revenue and Comparative Cost calculated?

In cooperation with the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials Accounting Committee, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Financial Services Team has developed cost/revenue "benchmarks" that can be used for informational and general analysis purposes. See Comparative Cost Per Member and Comparative Revenue Per Member for more information.

Due to restructuring of the Annual Report fund categories, WINSS data for the 1998-99 school year are not directly comparable to prior years' data and are not directly comparable to previously published School Performance Report data for 1998-99. WINSS cost and revenue data for 1999-2000 and beyond should exactly match published School Performance Report data for 1999-2000 and beyond.

Revenue amounts were rerun for 03-04, 04-05, 05-06, and 06-07 in July of 2008 to reflect changes in amounts for Fund 73 (Employe Benefit Fund).

What are the sources of financial data on WINSS?

Comparative per-member revenue and cost calculations for school districts are based on information obtained from the Annual Report (PI-1505) of school districts and on aid membership.

Why are financial data for nondistrict charter schools not available on WINSS?

In general, WINSS data includes all school districts (under ch. 119 or ch.120, Wis. Stats) and nondistrict charter schools (under s. 118.40(2r), Wis. Stats.). However comparative revenue and cost data for nondistrict charter schools are not available.

State law requires annual financial and programmatic audits of each nondistrict charter school. These reports are prepared and reviewed by each charter school's authorizer. The Department of Public Instruction does not receive these reports. Each nondistrict charter school keeps its own records and is not required to use a uniform chart of accounts for revenues and expenditures like school districts are.

Where can I get more information about using data on WINSS?

For more information about the WINSS Data Analysis Section, see Data Analysis Section - Frequently Asked Questions and/or Tips for First-time Users of the Data Analysis Section.

Related Web Pages:

School Finance Data Warehouse.
Membership Information and Reporting
Comparative Cost Per Member and Comparative Revenue Per Member
2R Charter School Membership History. This page provides lists of state aid payments made to nondistrict (i.e., 2R) charter schools under 118.40(r)(e).
Aids Register Information. This page lists federal and state aid received by the independent charter schools.

For questions about this information, contact dpistats@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-3166

Last updated on 12/15/2011 4:23:32 PM