External Business Services

Assembly Bill (AB) 1200 took effect January 1, 1992 and both redefined and established the county superintendent’s financial oversight responsibilities. The term AB1200 has come to include the review of school districts’ budgets, review of unaudited actuals financial statements, review of collective bargaining agreement disclosures, and non-voter approved debt, intervention on behalf of financially troubled districts, and responsibility for monitoring district corrective action for audit findings.

External Business Services primary function is to support the 43 school districts located in Tulare County and perform the AB1200 oversight responsibilities of the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE).

External Business provides the following services:  

Budget Control

External Business is responsible for reviewing and approving budgets for the 43 Tulare County school districts. This is performed three times per year at the following state-mandated budget reporting cycles: Adopted Budget, 1^st Interim and 2^nd Interim.

Contracted Services

Several small school districts contract with External Business for contracted accounting services. Contracted services include budget report preparation, fiscal guidance, year-end closeout, and payroll support.

Banking Services

External Business serves as the banking function for school districts in Tulare County. Banking services include deposits, wire transfer requests, check queries, and monthly cash reconciliation of all district cash accounts. The Director of External Business also serves on the Tulare County Treasury Oversight Committee which meets on a biannual basis to review the Tulare County pooled investment portfolio.

LCFF Calculators

The Budget Act of 2014 implemented the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) which serves as the largest funding source for all school districts in Tulare County. The LCFF is funded by a combination of local property taxes, the Education Protection Account (EPA), and general-purpose State Aid. External Business calculates each district’s estimated LCFF entitlement at a minimum of 4 times per year.

Payroll & Retirement Reporting

External Business inputs and processes payroll for all TCOE employees and several small Tulare County school districts. In addition, External Business serves as the PERS and STRS retirement reporting function for all school districts within the county. The average PERS and STRS retirement contribution payment is approximately $29 million per month.

Vendor Payment Auditing

Under Education Code 42636, the county superintendent has the authority to examine each order on school district funds. External Business serves this function for TCOE by auditing all district accounts payable vendor payments on a sampling basis. The audit process includes reviewing payments for proper supporting documentation, adherence to California Public Contract Code, and verifying sampled vendor payments have a clear educational purpose as defined by the California State Constitution.

IRS Reporting

External Business is responsible for all state and federal tax collecting and reporting mandates for Tulare County school districts including quarterly tax filings of Internal Revenue Service Form 941 and California Employment Development Department Form DE 9. In addition, External Business serves as the annual IRS reporting function for Tulare County schools which includes the processing of over 17,000 W-2’s and 2,800 1099s. Responsibility for county-wide Affordable Care Act reporting also falls under External Business and includes the processing of over 10,000 1095-C forms.