Fiscal Score (Whitney ISD's 2024 fiscal score is: 3)

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Indicator	Description	Year	Category	Values	Score
Enrollment Changes - Current Year	It can be argued that there is a correlation between enrollment loss and fiscal health. Enrollment loss can be caused by many factors (economy, demographics, migration, etc.,) and thus changes the amount of revenue provided by the state from their allocation of Foundation Allowance (FA). This Enrollment indicator measures enrollment change. School Districts can manage a minimal loss in enrollment. If a district lost more than a minimal enrollment percentage, it scores a 1, otherwise it is assigned a 0.	2024 2023	Enrollment Enrollment	1,475 1,183	0
Enrollment Changes - Prior 1 Year	This enrollment factor is calculated the same as Factor #1. The values however reach back one year to test for chronic problems in enrollment decline. This Enrollment indicator measures enrollment change. If a district lost enrollment more than a minimal percent over 2 years, it scores a 1, otherwise it is assigned a 0.	2023 2022	Enrollment Enrollment	1,183 1,478	1
Enrollment Changes - Prior 2 years	This enrollment factor is calculated the same as Factor #1. The values however reach back two years. This Enrollment indicator measures enrollment change. If a district lost enrollment more than a minimal percent over 3 years - it scores a 1, otherwise it is assigned a 0.	2022 2021	Enrollment Enrollment	1,478 1,443	0
General Fund Deficit - Target Year	This variable is computed by subtracting Expenditures from Revenues for a given year. This figure is then divided by Expenditures. If the number that results more than a trivial percentage, this indicates a district has a minimal operating deficit and this district receives a score of 1. If the district does not have an operating deficit, or if this deficit is minimal, the unit is given a 0.	2024 2024	Revenues Expenditures	$18,500,239 $18,817,344	1
General Fund Deficit - Prior 1 Year	This indicator is computed in the same manner as the General Fund Deficit except that it is applied to the year prior to the current year to determine if a chronic problem is forming. A score of 1 is assigned for the prior year in which a minimal operating deficit had occurred.	2023 2023	Revenues Expenditures	$17,805,683 $16,871,269	0
General Fund Deficit - Prior 2 Year	This indicator is computed in the same manner as the General Fund Deficit except that it is applied to the two years prior to the current year, and will indicate if a chronic problem exists. A score of 1 is assigned for the prior year in which a minimal operating deficit had occurred.	2022 2022	Revenues Expenditures	$16,678,479 $15,657,332	0
Size of Fund Balance 10%	Most districts maintain a positive fund balance, and it is a sign of fiscal distress if the fund balance is negative. Districts typically find it beneficial to keep the fund balance from declining too greatly as this inhibits their ability to cope with unexpected circumstances in either the revenue or expenditure stream. The actual variable constructed for this indicator is the General Fund Balance as a proportion of Expenditures. If a unit maintains a General Fund Balance less than the trigger, it scores a 1. Conversely a General Fund Balance above the trigger, it scores a 0.	2024 2024	Expenditures General Fund Balance	$18,817,344 $7,441,249	0
Size of Fund Balance 5%	Using fund balance as a means to weigh a districts ability to sustain, those with a declining fund balance might experience fiscal distress. if the fund balance is declining too greatly this inhibits their ability to cope with unexpected circumstances in either the revenue or expenditure stream. The actual variable constructed for this indicator is the General Fund Balance as a proportion of Operating Expenses and identifies if a chronic problem is forming. If a district maintains a General Fund Balance less than this trigger, it scores a 1. Conversely a General Fund Balance above the trigger level scores a 0.	2024 2024	Expenditures General Fund Balance	$18,817,344 $7,441,249	0
Size of Fund Balance Deficit	Districts can manage a trivial short-term deficit. However, a significant Fund Balance deficit is a sign of fiscal distress. The actual variable constructed for this indicator is the General Fund Balance as a proportion of Operating Expenses. If a unit has a General Fund Deficit, it scores a 1. Conversely if the General Fund Balance is in the black, it scores a 0.	2024 2024	Expenditures General Fund Balance	$18,817,344 $7,441,249	0
Foundation allowance change	Foundation Allowance (FA) is a major variable in the allocation of revenue from the state to the local districts. The total FA is equal to the State's allocation per pupil multiplied by the number of pupils and is commonly referred to as the per pupil grant that is the basis of proposal A. if the Foundation Allowance has declined, a 1 is assigned. If it is flat or increasing, a 0.	2024 2023	Foundation Foundation	$6,179 $7,027	1
Fiscal Score					3

Fiscal Score Explanation

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Background

The fiscal indicator score is a high level, single digital metric designed to give a quick look at how a community is faring fiscally considering changing economic climates. The lower the score the more fiscally stable; as the score increases, the probability for fiscal stress increases. 

The system is digital in nature, a pass-fail with ten categories. If a community “passes” a given metric, or beats the trigger, they score a zero in that metric. If they fail, they are assigned a one.  Add up the ones in all ten categories and that is the fiscal score for that unit of government. It’s that simple.

Authors

Originally developed by the Michigan Department of Treasury and Michigan State University in 1992 as part of Public Act 72⁽¹⁾ the scoring system has evolved over time.  First updated in 2002, the scoring measures were again improved in 2013 based on a professional association of public officials and finance professionals work and recommendation following several requests to the Michigan Department of Treasury.  This work has been incorporated into Munetrix and is what drives the current algorithms.   

Schools

In an effort to offer a consistent look and feel, the core elements of the State of Michigan’s municipal Fiscal Indicator Scoring system were adapted to local school finance in 2012 with a partnership between the Michigan School Business Officials, and a team of 12 school finance and business management professionals.  Now both measures are set up to look for chronic fiscal problems while not penalizing the entities for managing fund balances effectively. 

Intuitiveness

Besides building the algorithms and embedding them into the database, Munetrix added the color scheme to the score as a means to make it easier for the average citizen to understand. Green = good. Red = bad.  Citizen’s and Policy Makers get that – since they are really one in the same anyway.

The scoring is not all encompassing by its nature and is not intended to be the end-all fiscal health or stress determination for a community or school district.  We liken the fiscal score to a trip to your doctor for a check-up. If your vitals are good and your overall appearance is fine, you get a low score. If your blood pressure is up, you’re running a fever and look pale, you get a higher score and your doctor may want to run more tests.  If your vitals are off the charts, you’re hospitalized.  If used effectively, Munetrix’s can help local governments avoid Hospice. 

But the real benefit is not with historical information. Who cares how sick you were two years ago? Instead, Munetrix promotes current and predictive aspects of finance. How healthy are you today, and how healthy are you likely to be in the future based on your lifestyle or budget assumptions.  Testing future assumptions against the algorithm allows local governments and schools the ability to quickly build financial plans using real data while basing decisions on desired levels of service against available resources.

Daniel Howes from the Detroit News labeled Munetrix as the equivalent of a “Fiscal Radar” for local governments in April of 2011.  We like to refer to it as night vision for Finance Directors and Policy Makers.  Whatever you call it, Munetrix promotes the concepts of: Seeing is believing; Using data to make decisions; and No surprises. 

References

(1) Fiscal Distress Indicators: An assessment of current Michigan law and development of a new “early-warning” scale for Michigan communities.  Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University.  Authors:  Robert Kleine, Philip Kloha and Carol Weissert.