Furniture and Equipment Policy and Guidelines

Furniture and equipment policy and guidelines for state integrated schools.

Introduction

State integrated schools are eligible for furniture and equipment funding for:

modernisation projects, and
New square metres projects (which are planned projects to create additional accommodation).

These guidelines explain:

how the entitlement for furniture and equipment funding is calculated, and
the process for claiming funding.

The repair or replacement of furniture and equipment is not eligible for funding under this policy. Repair or replacement is the responsibility of the board and is funded by the operations grant in the same way as state schools.

Purpose of the Policy

The key purpose of this policy is to ensure that capital contributions for furniture and equipment are attached to property capital funding entitlements. This is to avoid contributions being project-based and tied to building type.

Definition of Furniture and Equipment

furniture 1

Furniture and Equipment Policy

There are two parts to the furniture and equipment policy for state integrated schools -modernisation and new square metre entitlements.

Modernisation projects

Proprietors receive funding for modernisation projects under Policy One funding. The funding for furniture and equipment for these projects is calculated as a fixed percentage (up to 5%) of the modernisation budget, depending on the school type. This amount is adjusted against the Policy One funding for the year. To show how this works, the following table shows the calculation for a sample Year 9-15 school with a total modernisation project budget of $50,000 and Policy One funding of $105,643:

College ZZZ

Policy One funding for the year	$105,643	A
Total modernisation project budgets	$50,000	B
Total F&E budgets	$2,500	C	B x 5% (the F&E % for a Y1-15 school)
Average F&E rate	5%	D	C ÷ B x 100
Maximum F&E funding available this year	$5,763	E	A x D (This is the adjustment against Policy One funding)
Actual F&E funding available this year	$2,500	F	The minimum of C or E
F&E funding to be claimed from last year	$4,718	G	Added on if any funding is to be carried over from the previous year
Total for programme year	$5,763	H	The sum of F & G
F&E funding to be claimed next year	$1,455	I	C - E (Where C > E the balance is carried forward to claim next year, up to a maximum of 4 years)

The modernisation funding for furniture and equipment is equivalent to the Five-Year Agreement (5YA) furniture and equipment funding that state schools receive for modernisation projects.

See Appendix A for a copy of the template to be completed

Proprietors owning multiple schools

Proprietors who own more than one school must list each school individually on the template and include the project description and budget details for each school. There are 50 rows provided on the template and more rows can be added if the proprietor owns more than 50 schools.

Furniture and equipment funding to be claimed next financial year

In 2006/2007 ZZZ College furniture and equipment budget is $10,000. The maximum amount of funding available for that year was $5,282. This College was then able to carry over a claim for $4,718 to 2007/2008.

In 2007/2008 ZZZ College furniture and equipment budget is $8,000. However, they had available funding up to a maximum of $5,763. The amount carried forward from the previous year was able to be included in the 2007/2008 payment. They were then paid out $5,763 for 2007/2008 and carried over the remaining $1,455 to 2008/2009. The funding can only be carried over for a maximum of four years.

If a school has spent more than the maximum furniture and equipment funding available for the year (E), it can claim the additional spending to bring it up to the full entitlement (C) in the financial next year. These sums can be carried over up to a maximum of four years, provided they have not spent up to the maximum available for that year. For example:

See Appendix B for the sample template showing these calculations.

New Square Metres

Proprietors are responsible for building new square metres at their schools to bring them up to the school's entitlement under the School Property Guide (SPG). The SPG guides how much space the school should provide relative to its school roll.

Proprietors are required to certify to the ministry that they are funding the new square metres in accordance with their obligations under their Integration Agreement.

The ministry funds the board for furniture and equipment for the new square metres up to its SPG entitlement. New square metres in excess of SPG entitlement will not be eligible for furniture and equipment funding.

The funding for new square metres is based on net square metres and does not include corridors, circulation space, toilets etc.

Facilities which are provided for the first time at a school but are within existing floor space, for example a conversion of a building, are not be eligible for the new square metre furniture and equipment funding.

Note: Where new facilities are built with modernisation funding, the modernisation rate applies, not the new square metre rate.

How to make a claim for funding

_	+Both modernisation and new square metres projects
	All claims must be in the correct form and submitted to the ministry (National Office) by 30 September each year. Templates can be down-loaded from the Ministry of Education's website: F&E Calculators A copy of the templates can be viewed in Appendices A & C.
	Templates must be sent to: Marion Campbell Ministry of Education PO Box 1666 Thorndon Wellington.
	The calculations are checked by the ministry and if there are any queries or incorrect information the proprietor receives notification. A revised calculation is required by 31 October.
	The proprietor is advised in writing by 30 November that the forecast has been accepted. If the proprietor does not receive confirmation that the application has been accepted, the proprietor should resubmit the application.
	If the proprietor does not proceed with the project or the claim cannot be submitted before 30 June of the next financial year then the proprietor must advise the ministry by 28 February of that year.
	The proprietor must submit a claim for payment when the project is completed but no later than 30 June of the next financial year otherwise claim will not be paid.
	If the claim is not submitted by 30 June of the next financial year the proprietor can resubmit the forecast in the following financial year's cycle.

This process is also shown in the flowchart in Appendix D.

Payments

The furniture and equipment funding is paid to the board of trustees, not the proprietor. The board must purchase the furniture and equipment as they will be the owners of it and must record it in their accounting system and insure it.

All invoices should have GST added

New square metre projects only

Once the projects have been completed or a construction contract has been let, the board must send the invoices to their proprietor for forwarding on to the ministry of education for payment.

Invoices will be paid by the ministry to the board each quarter, on the first working day of January, April, July and October. The proprietor must send the invoices to the ministry at least five weeks before these payment dates.

Forecasts for 2009/2010

1. The templates for the 2009/2010 year must be received by 30 September 2008.

2. Templates must be sent to:

3. Marion Campbell
Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
Thorndon
Wellington.

4. If there are any queries or incorrect information a revised calculation will be required by 31 October 2008.

5. The proprietor will be advised in writing by 30 November 2008 that the forecast has been accepted.

6. If the proprietor does not proceed with the project or the claim cannot be submitted before 30 June 2010 the proprietor must advise the ministry by 28 February 2010 of that year.

7. Proprietor must submit their claims for payment no later than 30 June 2010 otherwise claim will not be paid.

8. If the claim is not submitted by 30 June 2010 the proprietor can resubmit the forecast in the next financial year's cycle.