Controller's Office

Capital Project Accounting provides financial accounting and reporting for the District's ongoing construction projects. Contracts from Construction Services that are authorized by the Board of Education are appropriated and encumbered. Progress payment requests are submitted to Capital Project Accounting for payment to contractors, architects, engineers, program administrators and other construction-related vendors. Projects are reconciled to ensure that accounts and project funding are always balanced. Project trends and cash flows are also analyzed throughout the life of capital projects funds. Monthly financial reports are prepared for the District’s Facilities Capital Programs and any other capital project fund initiatives.

Primary sources of funding for capital projects are bond issues, tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) funds, pay-as-you go funds, miscellaneous funding provided by proceeds from the sale of capital assets, capital leases, and other miscellaneous revenue sources.

• The $1.89 billion 2012 Facilities Capital Program is funded from the bond issue approved by voters in November 2012. Additionally, the Board approved $212.4 million in October 2015. The 2012 Bond program consists of new construction and repair of 40 schools across the district, technology upgrades, the replacement of regional field houses and athletic facility improvements, middle school restroom renovations and, safety and security improvements.
• Tax increments reinvestment zones (TIRZ) were created by the City of Houston to redevelop blighted areas. The success of the TIRZ program requires the district's participation. Funds are generated from property value increases of the property within the zones. Projects utilizing these funds must be approved by the Board of Education.
• In 2006, the district implemented a new "Pay-As-You Go" Program to maintain both schools and non-school facilities. Projects utilizing these funds must be approved by the Board of Education.
• Miscellaneous funding is generated from sales of capital assets, capital leases, and miscellaneous revenue sources. Major improvement projects must be approved by the Board of Education.

Capital Project Accounting also provides information to bonding companies, contractors, subcontractors, taxpayers, and government agencies. Current construction project files are maintained by the department, as well as the District's permanent construction and real-estate files.

Enterprise accounting consists of Food Service, Business Development and Medicaid Finance.

Food Service

The Food Service Fund is used to account for the financial operations of the breakfast and lunch programs offered by the District. The District operates several hundred school lunchrooms serving over 100,000 meals daily. For over twenty-five years, the District has participated in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs which are federal programs to provide partial reimbursement of the cost of meals served to children. The remaining costs of preparing and serving these meals are paid by the students and staff. The District also participates in the summer food program, which is funded by the Texas Department of Human Services.

Medicaid Finance

The Medicaid Fund is used to account for the financial operation of special reimbursement programs offered by the District. For several years, the District has participated in a Medicaid reimbursement program, which is a federal program to provide partial reimbursement for health care services provided to eligible children. The District currently provides Medicaid advisory services to over 200 Texas school districts.

The General Fund is the District's principal fund, accounting for the majority of current operating expenditures.  Recorded in the General Fund are transactions encompassing the approved current operating budget, related revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities and fund balance.  Financial transactions of the District are recorded in detail in the general ledger by objects and functions within projects and programs.  This fund has often been described as an operating or current fund and includes revenues from an ad valorem local maintenance tax, state fund, and other sources such as tuition, fees and investment earnings.

The General Accounting area of the Controller's Office is responsible for collecting, compiling, organizing, tracking and paying District contracts and consultant / professional service agreements. This area is also responsible for processing expenditure transfer requests and all accounts receivable inquiries.

Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions at: general_accounting@houstonisd.org 

GRC department collaborates with the Information Technology department to maintain and oversee HISD’s financial compliance activities related to segregation of duties and audit team interactions.

Internal Service Accounting manages funds for the Print Shop, Health Insurance, Worker's Compensation and the general Internal Service Fund.

Print Shop

The Print Shop Fund is used to account for all the printing and distribution activities of the District's two print shop facilities. Schools and departments are charged for the costs of printing and distribution requests. During non-peak times, the Print shop takes in work from other governmental agencies requiring assistance during their peak periods. The District also has reciprocal agreements with other governmental agencies in the event a backlog of jobs is experienced by District users.

Health Insurance

The Health Insurance Fund is used to account for the health insurance plan administered by the District. The plan is premium based which requires the District and its employees to share the cost. The District contributes approximately 56.32% of the annual cost of the plan, with employees paying for the remaining 43.68%.

Workers' Compensation

The Workers' Compensation Fund is used to account for risk financing activities related to the workers' compensation program. All employees of the District are covered by this plan for injuries occurring on the job. The District contributes 100% of the funding of this program.

Internal Services Fund

The Internal Services Fund is used to account for the fee-for-services offered by the District to serve the specific needs of schools and departments.  The Professional Development, Alternative Certification, Athletics, Regional Offices, UIL and Media Services programs are accounted for within this fund.

Fixed Assets Accounting handles the acquisition, retirement, and disposal of all land, building, equipment, vehicles and furniture in the District with a unit value of $500 or more and a useful life of two years or more.

Special Revenue accounts for all designated-purpose monies received in the form of federal, state or local grants. These grants, referred to as projects, are awarded to the Houston Independent School District for the purpose of accomplishing specified educational tasks; therefore, revenues and expenditures are recorded by project or similar group of projects.

The day-to-day management of the District’s cash and investment position is the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer, the Controller and the Treasurer, who have been designated by the Board as the District’s investment officers. Under the guidelines of the Public Funds Investment Act (PFIA) these individuals are responsible for creating and maintaining a portfolio of investments that provide safety from risk, liquidity to support cash requirements, and a yield providing a reasonable rate of return.

The results of the investment activities, which include a variety of cash deposit accounts, investment pools, and agency securities are reported to the Board on a quarterly basis. The Quarterly Investment Report includes graphical and written descriptions of the portfolio balances, yield analysis, maturity schedules, cash flows and account activity for all business areas. An abbreviated version of the Quarterly Investment Report is included in the Dial's section of this portal site.

Routine activities of Treasury Accounting include:

• receipt and depositing of cash and checks,
• printing disbursement checks for accounts payable and transferring the information to the bank,
• monitoring the balances of checking accounts for all the business areas,
• executing electronic payments and transfers between the various bank accounts,
• monitoring investment rates, and
• providing a daily report of the cash activity and status of the accounts.

Non-routine business would require:

• research to settle any payroll related issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
• preparing an assortment of journal entries to ensure all accounts can be reconciled at month end with bank statements or other external reports for payroll, taxes and debt service related accounts,
• communicating with securities brokers to purchase or sell investment instruments,
• tracking investment opportunities,
• ensuring the investments meet the criteria of the PFIA and HISD’s Cash Management and Investment Policy
• selective bidding for and enforcing the depository contract, and
• preparing debt service information for bond issuance, compliance, repayment and arbitrage.

Annual Local Debt Report
Supplemental Payment Register