Since 2003-04 every California school district has used the standardized account code structure (SACS) categories to report its financial transactions. Using SACS, districts can display financial information in a number of ways that connect revenues and expenditures to specific goals and activities. School and department level data can add to the sophistication of these budget analyses. SACS facilitates reports and comparisons that were previously extremely difficult or even impossible. However, districts have flexibility in the extent to which they use the system. They also vary in their interest in going beyond required reports and in their professional capacity to do so. All districts use SACS to break out their expenditures into general categories of goals and functions. But the system also enables districts to create more detailed categories based on the priorities and programs they wish to examine more closely. For example, the state requires that a district track instruction expenditures (other than Special Education) using the 1000 function code. Local districts can use codes 1001–1099 to create their own instruction categories that might be by grade level, subject, or some other variable they want to be able to analyze. The link below takes you to a table that summarizes the SACS categories and explains each one’s use. Download SACS category table [PDF] When districts use these data in conjunction with traditional object codes—and with department or site level information—they can perform quite detailed analyses. Some districts look at the differences in total support they are providing to elementary, middle, and high schools. Some examine how particular categorical funds—such as Instructional Materials or Economic Impact Aid—are distributed. A few use SACS as the foundation for data systems sophisticated enough to analyze all their expenditures in a general category, such as the professional development of teachers or district office support services. These reports make it possible to examine the amount of categorical funding, detail how the funds are used, and describe the full investment a district is making, including any encroachment on unrestricted funds. SACS also makes it possible to look at the manner in which a particular type of service is being distributed. For example, a report about student support services, such as counselors and school psychologists, could illuminate which schools are receiving the largest share of these services. Tracking these expenditures over time might show how the district’s investments have changed. Correlating those changes with behavior records, test scores, and other measures could show a relationship between the level of support services and student performance. The development and analysis of detailed financial reports can help a district more readily estimate the total cost of its various activities and programs. This can then be compared to what the district has decided is most important—whether that is improving reading instruction in the early grades, addressing the achievement gap with English learners, or improving the percentage of students completing college preparatory courses. Is the level of funding consistent with district priorities? What other, lower-priority efforts might the district be able to reduce or eliminate in order to make more resources available? What would an expansion of a current high-priority program really cost?