1The one-page dashboard
The central artifact. One page the board, the public, and (eventually) rating agencies can all read. Updated monthly during Phase 1, quarterly in steady state. Each metric is shown against its operating zone, with the current phase and the progress toward the next phase visible at the top.
Phase 1 — Recovery
2Bi-weekly claims review — by exception
The plan's operating principle: don't read every line. Apply defined flags to the standard check register the business office already produces, and direct attention to the items that meet the flag rules. The rotating reviewer signs off on the cycle; the full committee ratifies at formal meetings.
Cycle summary. 1,247 claims totaling $4,886,201 reviewed against the check register from the district's general ledger. 11 claims flagged for committee review under the standing exception rules. All other 1,236 claims pass on the standard register.
| Check # | Payee | Fund / Account | Amount | Flag reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104822 | Stanley Consultants Inc. | SAVE · City HS Auditorium | $184,500.00 | Above $100K threshold |
| 104836 | Touch Point Solutions LLC | GF · Technology | $71,200.00 | New vendor (first payment) |
| MAN-2026-094 | Internal Revenue Service | GF · Payroll | $48,317.42 | Off-cycle manual check |
| 104851 | Hillyard Inc. | GF · Operations | $94,820.13 | Vendor name change since last cycle |
| 104867 | Larson Construction Co. | SAVE · FMP 2.0 | $2,140,308.55 | Above $100K threshold |
| IF-2026-006 | Internal — Debt Service Fund | GF · Interfund transfer | $340,000.00 | Interfund activity |
| 104879 | Ahlers & Cooney P.C. | GF · Legal | $28,440.00 | Account over budget YTD |
| 104891 | RSM US LLP | GF · Auditor services | $32,500.00 | Recurring — auditor relationship |
Showing 8 of 11 flagged items. Three additional items were flagged for the “changed mailing address” rule and are routine; see attached detail.
Reviewer sign-off: J. Smith, FOC member designate · Date: October 3, 2026 · Next reviewer: M. Garcia (rotating)
313-week rolling cash forecast (Phase 1)
The plan calls for a 13-week rolling cash forecast during Phase 1 — a standard tool in turnaround finance for keeping early-warning visibility on cash. The forecast is rebuilt each week from the prior week's actual close, so projected vs. actual variance is visible by line.
| Week ending | Beginning cash | State aid | Prop tax / other in | Payroll out | Other out | Ending cash | Days cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 2026 (forecast) | $25.6M | — | $0.8M | ($9.6M) | ($4.1M) | $12.7M | 22 |
| Oct 16, 2026 (forecast) | $12.7M | $18.5M | $0.6M | ($0.4M) | ($3.2M) | $28.2M | 49 |
| Oct 23, 2026 (forecast) | $28.2M | — | $0.7M | ($9.7M) | ($3.8M) | $15.4M | 27 |
| Oct 30, 2026 (forecast) | $15.4M | — | $0.5M | ($0.4M) | ($4.6M) | $10.9M | 19 |
| Nov 6, 2026 (forecast) | $10.9M | — | $6.2M | ($9.7M) | ($3.4M) | $4.0M | 7 |
| Nov 13, 2026 (forecast) | $4.0M | $18.5M | $0.6M | ($0.4M) | ($3.1M) | $19.6M | 34 |
| … Six additional weeks projected through Jan 4, 2027 (showing alternating payroll cycles + Dec property tax disbursement). | … | ||||||
Forecast accuracy, prior 4 weeks: Week 1 +1.3% · Week 2 −0.4% · Week 3 +2.1% · Week 4 −0.8%. Trailing average within ±1.5% — within tolerance.
4Corrective-action tracker
Audit findings, internal control items, and recovery plan commitments — with owners, target dates, and status. Reviewed at every committee meeting until cleared. The point isn't to relitigate the items; it's to make sure completed work gets credited and stalled work gets surfaced before it becomes a problem.
| Item | Source | Owner | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank account segregation — separate accounts for Debt Service Fund, Schoolhouse Fund | FY23 audit material weakness | CFO | 9/30/26 | Past due (1 month) |
| Health Insurance Fund loan repayment — $10M plus interest | Board direction 6/2/26 | CFO | 10/1/26 | Past due (1 month) |
| FY24 audit findings response letter to auditor | FY24 audit | CFO | 12/15/26 | In progress |
| Monthly close calendar published and tracked | Internal controls plan | Controller | 11/30/26 | In progress |
| SBRC corrective action plan quarterly update | State oversight | CFO + Board | 12/31/26 | In progress |
| Restated FY23 financial statements filed with continuing disclosure | FY24 audit / bond covenant | CFO + Bond counsel | 1/15/27 | In progress |
| Continuing disclosure annual filing for FY24 | Bond covenant | CFO | 3/31/27 | In progress |
| SAVE Fund deficit corrective plan | FY24 audit (pending finding) | CFO + Bond counsel | TBD on audit issuance | Awaiting audit |
| Open meeting and open records training, all new committee members | Iowa Code Ch. 21 / Ch. 22 | FOC chair | 8/15/26 | Closed 8/12/26 |
| Reserves policy adopted by board | Recovery plan | FOC + Board | 9/30/26 | Closed 9/22/26 |
| Debt policy adopted by board | Recovery plan | FOC + Board | 11/30/26 | In progress |
| … 12 additional items, 11 closed prior to 9/1/26. | ||||
5Quarterly metric scorecard
One step deeper than the monthly dashboard. Each metric shown against its zone with a trailing 4-quarter trend, plus brief commentary on any metric in yellow or red. Goes to the board with the FOC's quarterly report.
| Metric | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Zone | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days cash on hand | 35 | 47 | Yellow | Improving (+12) |
| Unspent budget authority (UAB %) | 9.6% | 11.4% | Green | Improving (+1.8pp) |
| Solvency ratio | 3.8% | 5.2% | Yellow | Improving (+1.4pp) |
| FTE variance to budget | +18 | +12 | Yellow | Improving (−6 FTE) |
| YTD spending vs. budget pace | 98.3% | 99.2% | Green | Stable |
| Open audit findings | 12 | 8 | Yellow | Improving (−4) |
| Months to audit acceptance | >24 | 17 | Red | Improving (−7 mo.) |
| Continuing disclosure on-time rate | 0% | 50% | Red | Improving (+50pp) |
6Phase-change certification memo
When the conditions for moving between phases are met, the committee certifies the change and the board approves it in open session. This is the artifact that makes the recovery's progress markers visible — the kind of independently certified milestone that rebuilds external confidence.
The Financial Oversight Committee has reviewed the five conditions required under the board's Phased Operating Framework (Policy 200.3G5) for the district to step down from Phase 1 (Recovery) to Phase 2 (Stabilization). The Committee finds that each condition has been satisfied and certifies the change to the Board for approval in open session.
Conditions and current state:
- Condition 1 — Interfund Health Insurance Fund loan repaid in full with interest. Met. Repayment of $10,612,500 completed November 15, 2026. Independent confirmation against Health Insurance Fund bank statement reconciled by the Committee on November 22, 2026.
- Condition 2 — Three consecutive on-time monthly closes. Met. December 2026, January 2027, and February 2027 closes completed within the published target window (15 business days after period end), confirmed by the Controller.
- Condition 3 — FY24 audit accepted by the Board with corrective action plan adopted. Met. Audit accepted July 22, 2026; corrective action plan adopted August 11, 2026 covering all findings.
- Condition 4 — All operating metrics out of the red zone for two consecutive quarters. Met. Q3 FY27 and Q4 FY27 scorecards (attached) show no red-zone breach on the six operating metrics. Two audit-cycle metrics remain in red and are excluded from this condition per Policy 200.3G5.
- Condition 5 — Continuing disclosure annual filing for FY24 submitted on time. Met. Filing submitted March 31, 2027.
What changes at the phase transition: the Committee meets every other month rather than monthly; the rolling cash forecast moves from weekly to bi-weekly; the exception thresholds for claims review widen modestly under Schedule B. The full Phase 2 operating standards are set out in Policy 200.3G5.
The Committee recommends the Board approve the phase change at the next regular meeting. The Committee further recommends that, consistent with prior practice, the Board issue a public statement noting that this is an independently certified milestone in the district's financial recovery.
7Annual auditor independence confirmation
Standard practice in audit-committee governance. The independent auditor sends a written confirmation each year that no relationships exist that would compromise independence. The Committee acknowledges receipt and notes any matters discussed. Three paragraphs.
Letter from independent auditor to the Financial Oversight Committee:
To the Financial Oversight Committee of the Iowa City Community School District:
In accordance with our professional standards and the engagement letter for our audit of the District's financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, we confirm that we are independent of the Iowa City Community School District and have complied with the relevant ethical requirements regarding independence. We have considered all relationships between our firm and the District that, in our professional judgment, may reasonably be thought to bear on independence, and have concluded that none exist that would impair our independence in fact or appearance.
We further confirm that, during the year, no disagreements arose between our firm and District management on matters of accounting principles or disclosure that would require communication to the Committee. Two items were discussed at the appropriate level of management and are summarized in the management letter attached separately.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss any aspect of this confirmation with the Committee at the regular open-meeting auditor session scheduled for September 8, 2027.
FOC acknowledgment. The Committee acknowledges receipt of the auditor's independence confirmation and the accompanying management letter. The Committee reviewed both documents at the meeting of August 19, 2027, met with the lead audit partner without management present, and finds no matters requiring additional Board attention beyond those already in the corrective-action tracker. The Committee will hear the auditor's full report at the September 8, 2027 open meeting.
How these examples connect to the operating plan
Each artifact above is paired to a specific section of the operating note:
- Dashboard, exception report, cash forecast, corrective-action tracker — the "use what already exists" principle (section 1 of the note). Each is built from data the business office already produces.
- Dashboard zones, quarterly scorecard — the operating-zone framework (section 2). Yellow and red zones drive defined responses, not crisis-of-confidence reactions.
- Phase-change certification, cash forecast (Phase 1 only) — the phased step-down path (section 3). Heightened scrutiny has a defined end, and management controls the pace by hitting milestones.
- Auditor independence confirmation, corrective-action tracker — the independence and verification provisions (section 4). Routine, scheduled, non-confrontational.
- Dashboard, quarterly scorecard, phase-change memo — the "help tell the recovery story" objective (section 5). Each is publishable and gives the district an independently-vouched-for record of progress.
The reports as drawn require modest setup work in the business office — mostly data extracts and report templates — and very little ongoing additional effort beyond the standard month-end and pay-cycle work the district already does. The Committee adds the reviewer cadence, the exception filters, the independent reconciliation, and the public certification. None of that requires the business office to produce new financial information.