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FOREWORD

Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems is the product of the cooperative efforts of five nationwide education associations and the Office of Education over a period of more than two years. Hundreds of individuals constituting a broad cross section of American education shared in its development.

This handbook is the basic guide to financial accounting for local and State school systems in the United States. It is the second in a series of four handbooks in the State Educational Records and Reports Series undertaken at the request of a number of national organizations. Handbook I, The Common Core of State Educational Information, was published by the Office of Education in 1953. Handbooks on property and personnel accounting will complete the series.

At the call of the U. S. Commissioner of Education in September 1954, a policy committee for the financial accounting project held its first meeting. Members of the committee were: Shirley Cooper, Associate Secretary, American Association of School Administrators; Joseph P. McElligott, Chairman of the Accounting and Finance Research Committee, Association of School Business Officials of the United States and Canada; Edgar Fuller, Executive Secretary, Council of Chief State School Officers; Howard A. Dawson, Executive Secretary, Department of Rural Education, National Education Association; and Edward M. Tuttle, Executive Secretary, National School Boards Association. Fred F. Beach, Chief, State School Administration, Office of Education, served as secretary of the policy committee.

At its initial meeting, the policy committee defined the purpose of the project as the development of a financial accounting manual for the guidance of school districts,

State departments of education, and the Office of Education. Agreement was reached on the overall plan for conducting the project and the steps to be taken to utilize to the fullest extent the available resources of the cooperating organizations.

The first step called for a planning conference of representatives of the five associations and the Office of Education to determine the scope and content of the financial accounting manual. The planning conference was held November 22-23, 1954.

Following the guidelines established at the planning conference, Paul L. Reason compiled the first preliminary draft of the financial accounting manual. Items included in the draft met four basic criteria: Each item provides information that (1) is important to a local district in the operation of the school system; (2) is important to local school districts throughout the country; (3) is needed for comparisons among local school districts; and (4) can be maintained as a record with reasonable effort.

In May 1955, a committee of three representatives of the Association of School Business Officials of the United States and Canada met with Office of Education staff to consider the first preliminary draft. This 5-day meeting played an important part in preparing the document for consideration at the first national conference.

The First National Conference on Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems was held in Washington, August 15-19, 1955, to consider the preliminary manual as it had been revised at the May meeting. Twentyseven representatives of the cooperating organizations reviewed the second draft page by page. The painstaking review improved the document and advanced the project immeasurably.

The next step consisted of a series of eight 3-day regional conferences to consider the revised draft embodying the recommendations of the first national conference. These were held during January and February 1956 at

Washington, D. C.; Boston, Mass.; Atlanta, Ga.; Little Rock, Ark.; Lincoln, Nebr.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Spokane, Wash.; and Chicago, Ill. The 193 conferees at these meetings, designated by the cooperating organizations, represented the States and localities where they were serving education. Every State was represented. A testing ground was provided for determining the suitability of the manual under differing local and State conditions throughout the United States. Results of the regional conferences revealed common agreement on the vast majority of items in the revised preliminary manual. The relatively few issues on which differences existed became topics for consideration at the second national conference.

The Second National Conference on Financial Accounting for Local and State School Systems was held June 1820, 1956. Its membership, except in a few instances, was the same as for the first national conference. At this 3-day meeting the issues on which the differences existed were resolved, and final decisions were made on the contents of the handbook.

After the second national conference, the handbook was completed and duplicated. Copies were sent to each of the participating organizations. Subsequently, each of the five cooperating organizations officially approved the handbook as the basic guide for financial accounting for local and State school systems in the United States and recommended that Federal, State, and local agencies effect its use promptly and completely.

Handbook II will need to be revised from time to time to meet changing financial accounting needs. Through such action, its effectiveness may be maintained.

PAUL J. MISNER, President, American Association of School Administrators

J. WILBUR WOLF, President, Association of School Business Officials of the United States and Canada

DEAN M. SCHWEICKHARD, President, Council of Chief of State School Officers

R. EMMETT HARRIS, President, Department of Rural Education, National Education Association

TAYLOR T. HICKS, President, National School Boards Association

LAWRENCE G. DERTHICK, U.S. Commissioner of Education

WAYNE O. REED, Assistant Commissioner, Division of State and Local School Systems, Office of Education

E. GLENN FEATHERSTON, Director, Administration of State and Local School Systems, Office of Education

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