How School Districts Can Strengthen Compliance With Financial Regulations

The following sponsored article was provided by KEV School Solutions, a company dedicated to empowering K–12 schools with complete visibility and control over their finances.

School districts face three interconnected challenges. First, they must work within constrained budgets while still delivering high-quality education. Second, they must navigate increasingly complex layers of regulation and oversight. Third, they must prove to their communities that funds are spent wisely, maintaining the trust underpinning public education. All of this must happen against a backdrop of ongoing post-pandemic academic shortfalls, with student performance showing significant downturns across the board. 

This raises an urgent question for superintendents, chief financial officers and school boards — how do school districts ensure compliance with financial regulations while maximizing the impact of every resource? Before examining solutions, it is helpful to see the problem's scale.

Understanding the Regulatory Landscape

The financial rules governing school districts are wide-ranging and evolving. At the federal level, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires districts to report per-pupil expenditures at the school level. This transparency is designed to eliminate equity issues and empower communities to see how resources are distributed. However, it means capturing and reporting data that traditional accounting systems may not easily provide for districts.

Another key set of standards comes from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). These impose many specialized reporting duties on matters like leases, IT subscriptions, fiduciary activities, pensions and post-employment benefits. 

Federal and state grant requirements are layered on top, with strict guidelines dictating how funds may be spent and how expenditures must be documented. Underlying all of these regulations are required internal controls designed to prevent fraud, errors and misuse. 

Finally, there are annual financial audits, during which external auditors test compliance, review internal controls and issue findings. 

In short, the regulatory landscape is vast and technical. Yet while district offices may be equipped with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and compliance officers, the most significant risks often lie within the schools.

Difficulties of School-Level Financial Management

Thousands of small transactions occur in schools every day through clubs, athletics, food spending, field trips and fundraisers. Each must be captured, tracked and reconciled. Many districts find this the most difficult aspect of financial management.

Traditional ERP and student information systems were not designed to handle the granular, school-based activity that defines so much of K-12 finance. A club collecting $1,500 for a field trip, a parent paying $75 for a sports fee or a fundraiser bringing in $2,000 cash are all critical financial events, but they often fall outside the purview of district-wide systems. 

As a result, bookkeepers and teachers resort to patchwork methods — spreadsheets, handwritten ledgers, cash boxes or even personal payment apps. This creates significant blind spots with superintendents lacking visibility into school-level accounts and auditors encountering fragmented records. Beyond transparency, these blind spots open the door to risks, such as missed revenue, accidental errors or fraud.

The burden on staff is equally concerning. The 2024 State of the American Teacher report found that handling administrative work outside of teaching is the third-highest stressor on staff, after managing student behavior and salary concerns. Alongside other admin tasks, teachers and school staff must help manage funds with often limited tools. Manual data entry and reconciliation pull colleagues away from educational tasks, and the stress can erode morale and lead to mistakes.

Without a unified solution that integrates school-level activity, districts will continue to struggle with visibility, accuracy and compliance. Increasingly, this is where technology — specialized platforms designed for the realities of K-12 finance — plays a transformative role.

KEV School Solutions — A Leader in School Finance Compliance

KEV School Solutions provides one such platform and has almost 30 years of experience supporting schools with financial compliance. The company serves over 1,000 districts and 26,000 schools, managing more than $4 billion in student funds annually. Its flagship web-based platform, SchoolCash, unites payments, accounting and reporting into one powerful, cohesive system.

KEV’s innovative solutions showcase how technology can ease the compliance burden on school districts in key ways.

Strengthening Internal Controls

By capturing all school-level transactions, KEV enables districts to aggregate and report per-pupil expenditures by school, program or activity.

Many districts with visibility challenges eventually reach a tipping point. That was the case for the Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, which struggled to account for large volumes of cash moving through its schools. Library fees, food sales and fundraising efforts were all managed separately, costing teachers valuable time and requiring two staff members at the central office just to count the cash and deposit it. 

The district turned to KEV’s SchoolCash platform and now enjoys transparency. “SchoolCash saves time and work for our clerks. We have more control over collections, which is very important because we were collecting $2 million per year in cash from our campuses. I would recommend SchoolCash to any district,” said Accountant Fernando Ramirez.

Meeting ESSA Financial Transparency

Simpson County Schools in Franklin, Kentucky, faced challenges reconciling disparate funds. The district implemented SchoolCash and was impressed with the results. CFO Amanda Spears said, “With KEV’s school finance platform, I can manage vendors, view school balances and support bookkeepers remotely. It’s made life easier for finance, improved controls for audit and compliance and given school staff a consistent system that works. We cut year-end closeout time by 80% while staying fully Redbook and GASB-84 compliant.”

Improving Audit Efficiency

With clean data, trails and ready-made reports, SchoolCash audits become faster, less stressful and less costly. Michelle D. Jackson, Staff Accountant and School Activity Funds Coordinator at Savannah Chatham County Public Schools System in Georgia, agrees. 

“Where SchoolCash really shines, as a time-saving, single version of the truth, is in the whole area of audits — both in facilitating occasional spot audits and in ensuring that our external auditors don’t have any findings when they do the annual audit,” she reported.

Freeing Staff Time

KEV’s integrated school finance platform can considerably relieve pressure on staff, as Kimneye Cox, Director of Business Services for Ascension Parish School Board in Louisiana, found. “Unlike our previous system, SchoolCash Online automatically reconciles and deposits fees into a school’s bank account — no manual intervention is required. Furthermore, all transactions are automatically written back to the general ledger,” said Ms. Cox, noting that this had freed up staff members to focus on higher-impact educational tasks.

Adding Value for Parents

Parents also benefit, especially through the introduction of online payment systems. When parents pay this way, it further streamlines the system and boosts funds. “Staff are excited that the catalog can be posted to an online store, allowing families the opportunity to see what’s available. I wish I had this when we were operating a school store as we would have made a lot more money,” reported Kenneth Revels, Business Process Analyst at the School District of Lee County in Florida.

Reducing Human Error and Preventing Fraud

Metro Nashville Public Schools had been concerned about manual errors by bookkeepers, further compounded by a lack of security on basic spreadsheets. Following a move to SchoolCash, human error has been largely eliminated. “We now have complete confidence that our numbers are accurate, which mitigates risks associated with noncompliance,” explained Taronda Frierson, Director of School Audit.

KEV’s platform also enabled the district to strengthen internal controls related to adding or modifying vendors, as recommended by Tennessee state guidelines intended to reduce fraud and conflicts of interest. 

Together, these examples illustrate KEV’s impact. Whether it is regaining control, reducing audit prep, empowering bookkeepers or ensuring compliance, digital platforms provide school districts with peace of mind that every dollar is accounted for, every standard is met, and every stakeholder — from auditors to parents — can trust the system.

Best Practices for Ensuring Financial Compliance

Technology provides a robust foundation for compliance, but districts that excel at financial stewardship combine tools like SchoolCash with strong leadership, continuous training and a culture of responsibility.

Have Leadership Set the Tone

When boards and superintendents prioritize transparency, they signal that compliance is a shared value across the organization. Regular discussion of audit results, public reporting of expenditures and clear communication about financial priorities build trust inside and outside the district. Strong leadership is key to building trust, especially during transitions, such as integrating new tools.

Facilitate Ongoing Training

Regulations evolve frequently. Bookkeepers, principals and finance staff must have opportunities for professional development to keep their skills sharp and their practices current.

Review Internal Controls

Segregation of duties, approval hierarchies and reconciliation processes that were effective five years ago may not address today’s risks. Districts should schedule periodic reviews to test, update and strengthen controls.

Collaborate and Communicate

Finance offices, auditors, school administrators and parents are all interested in responsible financial management. Open communication reduces misunderstandings and helps prevent small issues from becoming major compliance failures.

Navigating Compliance With Ease

School districts face an era of scarce resources and rising accountability. By understanding regulations, addressing school-level blind spots, leveraging technology and promoting responsibility, districts can protect every dollar and ensure it benefits students. When leadership, internal controls, collaboration and technology work together, districts create an environment where compliance is a natural outcome of disciplined financial management.

The Teacher Treasury values transparency and encourages parents and districts to explore multiple resources to find the best fit for their needs.

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What financial management challenges has your school or district faced in recent years?

How do you currently ensure transparency in school-level spending?

Have you used any digital tools to streamline compliance or reduce audit stress?

What internal controls or best practices have worked best for your district?

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