Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to regulate and amend how school districts in Minnesota can utilize their school food service fund. It aims to clarify which expenses can be charged to the food service fund versus the general fund, ensuring proper management of financial resources dedicated to school food programs.

Main Provisions

• Expense Attribution: The bill mandates that expenses related to school food service programs must be recorded under the school food service fund. This includes costs like meal preparation and service, kitchen services, and meal tracking technology.

• General Fund Charges: Some expenses, such as lunchroom supervision, custodial services, utilities, and furniture, are to be charged to the general fund rather than the food service fund unless specific conditions are met.

• Superintendent and Fiscal Manager Costs: If a district does not have a food service director, the superintendent and fiscal manager costs can be partially charged to the food service fund, capped at a wage rate equivalent to the statewide average for food service directors.

• Capital Expenditures: Normally, capital expenditures for purchasing food service equipment must come from the general fund unless there is enough surplus in the food service fund to cover these costs at the end of a fiscal year.

• Deficits and Surpluses: If a deficit in the food service fund persists beyond one fiscal year, it must be covered by a transfer from the general fund unless there is a management company involved which must pay instead. A plan to eliminate the deficit within three years must be submitted to avoid forced transfers. Surpluses present for three years allow for certain general fund expenses to be recoded and covered by the food service fund up to the amount of surplus.

Significant Changes

• Flexibility for Surplus Utilization: The bill grants districts the flexibility to use surpluses to cover general fund expenses closely related to lunchtime services.
• Deficit Management Plan: Districts are offered more time to manage deficits, provided they submit a viable plan to the state's commissioner.
• Limits on Charging to Food Service Fund: The bill enforces stricter criteria on what infrastructural costs can be charged to the food service fund, with exceptions only when duly approved.

Relevant Terms

school food service fund, general fund, surplus, deficit, capital expenditures, superintendent costs, wage rate limits, fund transfers, lunchroom supervision costs.