Can I Get Financial Info on my School?

YES! Since July 1, 2000, the District's Financial Reporting Database containing financial information about every school has been available to District employees over the Internet. This Financial Reporting Database system allows you to either create financial reports or access predefined financial reports that will show basic financial data in every fund and every program code available at the school site, depending on the query.

In addition, the information is updated nightly so the report is much more accurate than the financial reports received once a month. Specific Monthly Activity Backorder and Salary/Fringe Benefit Reports are not available. An encumbrance report is available but will not show the vendor names.

Let me walk you through the process to access an Expense Budget Report for Fund 1, General Fund-Unrestricted.

After you have logged on to the Internet through your Internet provider, go to the following address: http://frdb.lausd.k12.ca.us and follow the directions to receive your user ID so you can log on to the site.

Once there, click on the "Flexible Query Report" tab. (I have found this to be much easier for me to use than the predefined reports.)

Under Expense Budget, click on "Extended Analysis." Enter the year, and in the box for "Organization," enter your school's location code number.

Under Fund, choose "001-General Fund-Unrestricted." Click on "Next." Leave all boxes as is and click on "Next." You will then be able to view all the program code numbers in Fund 1, what has been budgeted in all categories (salaries, instructional material, etc.), encumbered, and expended to date. This report and all others can also be printed.

To see the information in Fund 3, General Fund Restricted, for the categorical programs, follow the above sequence but choose "003-General Fund-Restricted" when prompted for the fund number.

If you are interested in following the activity in a specific program code, under Monthly Activity, click on the "Detail Report." At the prompts, enter your school code number AND the specific program code number in the "Program" box and click on "Next." Leave all boxes as is and click on "Next" again. You will then be able to view all the activity in that program code, including all transaction codes and dates, specific vendors, and the person who authorized the transaction.

There are many other reports available with various amounts of information included in them. I must commend the District for this wonderful tool. By experimenting with the Financial Reporting Database, you will be able to determine which reports give you and your stakeholders the information needed to make informed decisions about budgeting, monitoring expenditures, and planning for future expenditures -- all tied to increasing student achievement.