Business & Finance
Our district is financially strong. We are proud to have maintained a AAA bond rating since September 2008. Only 50 districts across the country have this rating.
Our department is responsible for the monetary aspects of operating the school district, including the following functions:
- Accounts Payable & Receivable
- Budgeting
- Buildings & Grounds
- Culinary Express (Food Service)
- Transportation
- Payroll
- Purchasing
- Student Accounting
Contact
Jim Westrum
Executive Director of Business and Finance
763-745-5023
Jim.Westrum@wayzataschools.org
Jill Schwint
Controller
763-745-5070
Jill.Schwint@wayzataschools.org
Melissa Lahr
Finance Supervisor
763-745-5038
Melissa.Lahr@wayzataschools.org
- Student Accounting
- Non-Public Education
- Accounts Payable
- Purchasing
- Financing Education in Minnesota
- Annual Financial Reports
- Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2017-2018
- 2017 Truth in Taxation
- Public Bid Notices
Student Accounting
The state of Minnesota requires the district to report student enrollment in great detail. This includes the number of hours each student is enrolled, as well as information about ethnicity, home language spoken, disabilities and much more. Much of this information is required in order to calculate the amount of state aid the district is entitled to under various state programs.
Non-Public Education
Please visit the Welcome Center for current resources and annual forms.
Accounts Payable
Purchasing
Purchasing staff are responsible for purchasing goods or services for the district and its schools. Their objective is to obtain the best possible value at the lowest price. State law requires large dollar amount purchases to be made through an open bidding process, which is also managed by the purchasing department.
Financing Education in Minnesota
The financing of elementary and secondary education in Minnesota is through a combination of state collected taxes (primarily income and sales) and locally collected property taxes. Revenue to school districts is received in three major categories. For more information, please read Financing Education in Minnesota, produced by the Minnesota House of Representatives Fiscal Analysis Department.
Annual Financial Reports
Our Fiscal Year 2017 Audit was conducted by the firm of Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich & Co., P.A. They presented the results of that audit to the School Board at the November 27, 2017 work session and December 11, 2017 regular meeting. The following reports were shared with the Wayzata School Board:
- Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)
- Management Report
- Special Purpose Audit Reports
- Extracurricular Student Activity Accounts Financial Report
The District has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Association of School Business Officials for 33 consecutive years. This award signifies the District's commitment to financial accountability and transparency and is only received by a small number of Minnesota school districts. A good source of information is the Management Discussion and Analysis section starting on page 4 of the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (see below).