Practice Test
A CSBO receives a request from a parent/guardian concerning the immunization records of several classmates of the parent/guardian's child. Which of the following laws relating to information disclosure is most relevant in this situation?
FERPA
Which of the following recommendations by a CSBO would most effectively minimize the spread of influenza in the district's schools?
Requesting that students exhibiting flu symptoms stay home
In a school district budget, which expenditure would be listed under the Educational Fund?
Supporting a lunch program at schools
The CSBO for a district has determined that an upcoming contract for general supplies meets state requirements for competitive bidding. After determining a time and place for the bid opening, the district is required to:
Advertise the time and place in a newspaper that circulates in the district at least 10 days before the bid opening.
In addition to training students and staff in proper response procedures, school safety drills offer which of the following benefits?
Allowing school administrators to evaluate safety plans and identify areas for improvement
Which of the following considerations is typically most important for school administrators in assessing the outcomes of a significant change to a school program?
Allowing sufficient time for the resolution of any initial implementation problems before conducting the evaluation
According to IL law, bonds issued by a school district for land purchase or facilities construction or renovation must be fully paid off within which of the following time frames?
20 years after the date of the issuance of the bond
According to Illinois state law, the total amount of state aid anticipation certificates, general obligation notes, and tax anticipation warrants issued by a school district in any one fiscal year may not exceed:
85% of the tax levy for that year
Which of the following types of financial documents provides the best snapshot of a school district's financial position at one particular point in time?
A Balance Sheet
According to Illinois state law, an independent audit of a school district must be performed by:
A certified public accountant who is not employed by the district.
Instituting a voluntary payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program to help fund district schools would likely be most effective in which of the following communities?
A community that has a high number of nonprofits that own property
A school district would most likely require which of the following individuals to provide a certificate of insurance before being hired by the district?
A contractor who is submitting a bid to renovate several rooms in a district school
Questions related to due process are most likely to be relevant in which of the following circumstances?
A dispute exists between parents/guardians and a school about the implementation of a student's IEP
The annual independent audit of a school district should include which of the following elements?
A review of the implementation of state and federal grants to ensure that the district is in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations
Which of the following statements best describes how the ADA would most affect human resource management for a school district?
Admin must develop strategies for reasonable accommodations to enable employees who have disabilities to effectively perform their job duties.
According to IL state law, a school board can, with a 2/3 majority, donate school district property to which of the following persons or organizations?
Any governmental entity/unit in the state of IL
A local school board can best ensure that the district follows GAAP defined by GASB by taking which of the following actions?
Appointing an internal auditor to review accounting methods used by the district
Under IL state law, each school district must file a management plan for which of the following airborne contaminants?
Asbestos
Which of the following strategies by a CSBO would likely be most effective in educating the school community about the presence of hazards in district schools and how to avoid them?
Asking principals to hold small-group staff meetings to discuss hazards and accident prevention and teachers to hold similar in-class discussions
A CSBO is meeting with the head custodians of the district's schools to make up a checklist of daily tasks that custodians should complete. Which of the following elements of this checklist should receive the highest priority for custodians to ensure school safety?
Checking to see if fire exits are clear and have not been blocked during the day
A CSBO has been asked to provide input about the possible adoption of a new electronic records system for the district. The business leader first meets with the district planning committee to determine their priorities in adopting the new system. The business leader then briefs the planning committee on the financial implications of purchasing, installing, and maintaining the system. During the process of adopting and implementing the system, the business leader schedules information sessions for administrators, teachers and interested members of the community. This sequence of events highlights which of the following qualities necessary in a leader?
Communicating effectively with a wide range of audiences.
District Admin are considering whether to continue an instructional intervention program for students in grades 3-8. The program is expensive, but it is popular with parents/guardians. The CSBO can best contribute to the board's decision by:
Conducting a cost benefit analysis of the program
A district has contracted with a new vendor to provide food service, and the CSBO is developing plans for assessing the new vendor's performance. The business official's plan for program evaluation includes collecting data regarding costs and numbers of students served, as well as conducting student surveys. Which of the following additional data collection methods is likely to be most helpful in assessing the vendor's performance?
Conducting observations of student food choices in the cafeteria
Which of the following provisions under IL state law most clearly exemplifies the concept of transfer of risk?
Contractors must agree to hold the district harmless for accidents that occur due to their actions during the course of contracted work.
A school district in IL is most likely to join an insurance cooperative for workers' compensation, property and liability insurance for which of the following reasons?
Cooperatives are better able than individual districts to negotiate with providers for lower premiums.
In IL, which of the following entities is responsible for inspecting school cafeterias to ensure that they meet standards for cleanliness and safety?
County Health Department
A "builder's risk" insurance policy for a construction project normally provides coverage in which of the following situation?
Damage to a project that is under construction
One important function of a life cycle analysis for a fixed asset such as a piece of equipment or component of a facility is to help district administrators:
Determine whether replacing or repairing the asset is more cost-effective.
A facilities planning committee is developing a five-year plan for managing the district's fixed asset other than land. After listing the fixed assets for each building, such as equipment and elements of the physical plant, which of the following steps should the committee take next?
Determining the remaining useful life for each asset
A newly formed district planning committee is developing a management plan for parcels of undeveloped land owned by the school district. Committee members first mark the parcels on a town map, and then visit each site to gain an impression of its characteristics. Which of the following steps should the committee take next?
Developing an attributes list that would help rank the parcels in terms of their suitability for different uses.
During the first two decades of the 21st century, technological advances have most significantly lowered the cost of:
Electricity generated by solar panels
Which of the following approaches by a chief school business official is most likely to be successful in coordinating the implementation of a new district program
Establishing clear goals for the implementation of the program and defining milestones for the achievement of each goal
Which of the following strategies would be most appropriate and cost-effective for ensuring security in a school building when the gymnasium is being used by community groups?
Establishing zoned security areas that deny access to areas of the building that are not being used.
The requirement for CSBO in Illinois to submit an economic interest statement annually most clearly reflects the public's interest in:
Ethical stewardship over district resources
Before dismissing a tenured teacher for unsatisfactory performance, a local school board in IL must first:
Evaluate the teacher's deficiencies and put in place a program to remediate those deficiencies
In Illinois, which of the following powers rests solely with school boards?
Expelling a student for serious violations of the district's student code of conduct.
When developing a cash flow forecast for a district, a CSBO should first consider:
Fixed expenditures such as payroll, rather than discretionary expenditures
A CSBO has been asked to speak at a public meeting of the school board regarding the revenues and projected needs of the school district for the coming school year. The business official can best ensure effective communication by:
Focusing on a few essential points about the district's finances
Which of the following approaches to school safety by a CSBO is most likely to reduce the number of accidents that take place in district schools and grounds?
Forming a risk management committee to report on potential to report on potential hazards at each school and entering hazards identified and actions taken in a databse.
Which of the following actions by a CSBO would be the most appropriate first step in assessing the effectiveness of a district's risk management program?
Gathering data relating to the type, frequency, and causes of preventable accidents over the last five years
Employing a system of inventory management based on the principle of first-in, first-out is likely to be most appropriate for items that:
Have a defined expiration date.
Which of the following strategies is most likely to be effective in strategic planning efforts by district admin teams?
Identifying a well-defined set of goals that are clearly aligned with the district vision
Which of the following retrofits to a district school building to lower energy costs is likely to have the lowest capital costs and the shortest payback period?
Identifying and sealing leaks around doors and windows
Which of the following actions taken by a CSBO is most likely to reduce the number of trips and falls experienced by district students?
Implementing a code of conduct that discourages running, jumping down stairs or other risky behavior
Surveys would typically be the most appropriate tool for school leaders to employ in gathering which of the following types of information?
Information on how school climate is perceived by large subsets of the school community
Establishing a system of quality control when evaluating bids would be most important for which of the following contracts?
Installing new energy-saving doors and windows for a school building
The municipal bond rating of a school district is usually the single most important factor affecting the:
Interest rate that the district will pay on its bond.
School districts depositing funds in an interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit are required under Illinois state law to choose a bank or savings and loan association that:
Is situated within the state of Illinois
Most community, consolidated, and combined school district in Illinois are required to provide free transportation for students under which of the following circumstances?
Mass public transportation is not available, and the student must travel over one and one-half miles to school.
A group of citizens has proposed making significant changes to a school district;s curriculum. The superintendent of the district feels that the changes would not align with the vision and goals of the district and could cause dissension in the community. In addition, the CSBO estimates that the proposal could severely strain the district's budget. The citizen group has requested a meeting with the superintendent and the business official to discuss their proposal in detail. Which of the following strategies should the superintendent and business official follow in response to the request?
Meet w/ the group and listen to their proposal. Work with the other district admin officers to evaluate the advantages, disadvantages and costs of accepting the proposal. Present a summary of the proposal and a recommendation to the school board.
Which of the following steps should a district planning committee take first when selecting a site for the construction of a new elementary school?
Meeting with local officials to determine which areas are or could be appropriately zoned for school construction
When discussing the financial position and financial operations of a school district at a public meeting of the school board, it would be most important for a CSBO to:
Minimize the use of accounting jargon
With respect to school facilities management, Illinois state law specifies the:
Minimum temperature in different spaces within a building.
The Working Cash fund differs from other funds in the school budget in which of the following ways?
Money in the Working Cash fund can be loaned to any other fund by the school board
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, which regulates collective bargaining procedures for public school employees, covers which of the following types of employees?
Noncertified employees, such as custodians
The first consideration for a CSBO when planning bus routes for a school should be to minimize the
Number of students who must cross roads to board buses.
A school board that has reached its debt limit may continue to incur new debt for which purpose?
Paying teacher salaries
The most effective way for a CSBO to examine changing patterns of revenue allocation in a school budget over the last 5 years would be to compare year-over-year changes in the:
Percentage of the budget allocated to major line items within each fund
Which of the following types of expenditures is likely to be most difficult for a CSBO to project when drafting a district budget for the upcoming school year?
Physical plant replacements and repairs
Prior to conducting collective bargaining negotiations with employee unions, it is most important for school boards to:
Prepare a five-year projection of district revenue and expenditures
A CSBO is developing a preliminary allocation of funds to different line items of the district budget for the upcoming school year. Which of the following types of information would be most useful to the business official?
Projected fund balances at the end of the current budget year
The State of Illinois's development of a multifactored College and Career Readiness Indicator (CCRI) primarily reflects an understanding that public schools have a responsibility for:
Providing all students with the knowledge and skills needed for post-secondary success.
During a public info campaign about a referendum to pass a general obligation bond for facilities renovation, which of the following steps would be most appropriate for a CSBO to take first?
Publishing a fact sheet addressing the referendum, the purpose for which the money will be used, and the potential effect on taxes
A school district is preparing to implement significant changes to an established program which are likely to affect the work of numerous staff members. At each district school, the leadership team reaches out to personnel who may be affected by the changes and involves them in planning for implementation. The strategy is most likely intended to support school leaders in:
Recognizing and avoiding potential conflicts related to the program changes
Database software would be most useful for which of the following purposes?
Recording students names, addresses, grade level, courses completed, test scores, and other info
A school district undertakes a data systems integration effort, including digitizing paper records, implementing data standards, and ensuring that all data systems are compatible. Which of the following is likely to be the most significant benefit for the district of this integration effort?
Reducing barriers to producing information that can drive decision making
Some states have enacted laws that provide tax credits to individuals and businesses who contribute money for scholarships to private and parochial schools. The primary argument made by critics of these tax credits has been that the laws:
Result in a reduction of the revenues available to fund public education
A school district's budget for the upcoming year would require raising the property tax levy above the maximum rates allowed by Illinois state law. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the district take to ensure that the district budget is fully funded?
Scheduling a referendum in which district voters are asked to authorize the tax levy increase
According to Illinois state law, a school district must include in its curriculum instructions related to:
School Bus Safety
Maintaining sufficient liquidity is typically a priority in school district investment policies primarily for which of the following reasons?
School district cash flow tends to be irregular and must be supplemented occasionally
While the square footage of the building floor plan is typically the first factor to be considered when determining custodial staffing needs for a high school, the square footage alone would likely be inadequate to determine needs for:
Science labs and shop classrooms.
In a Student Activity Account, expenditures are requested by student officers and advisors, but payment is generated by a bonded treasurer appointed by the school board. This approach is an example of which of the following internal controls?
Segregation of duties
A local school board has worked with stakeholders, including district administrators, community members, first responders, police, and fire officials to review and recommend changes to the district's crisis management plan. The next step in the process of reviewing and updating plan is to:
Send a summary report to all stakeholders and to the appropriate regional superintendent.
In Illinois, unit school districts differ from other types of school districts because unit districts:
Serve elementary, middle and secondary grades under district control
A CSBO is exploring the use of cloud-based storage for the business office's information technology systems. It is most important for the business official to consider which of the following factors before adopting this type of data-storage technology?
Since cloud-based storage depends on the Internet, sensitive information may be vulnerable to hackers.
Administrative procedures developed and applied by district superintendents function primarily to:
Specify how the district will implement and adhere to polices developed by the school board.
Which of the following considerations is typically most important when designing a professional development program for teachers in a school district?
State mandates and guidelines for teacher license renewal
Which of the following types of information is required to be included in a student's permanent record, rather than the student's temporary record?
Student accident reports
Which of the following statements best describes the role of the CSBO in relation to the local school board?
The CSBO explains the budgetary process and other financial matters to board members
A visitor to a district school is injured on school property, and a court finds that the district was negligent in allowing the injury to take place. In which of the following circumstances would a school district have to pay the visitor's settlement costs?
The Settlement is greater than the district's insurance coverage.
The pension plan operated by the TRS of the state of IL differs from a 401(k) retirement plan in which of the following ways?
The TRS pension plan guarantees set monthly payments at retirement, while 401(k) payments may vary according to the success of investments.
The annual budget adopted by the school board of a district and filed with the state board of education is used to determine:
The amount of the tax levy for the district
A school district is seeking to enter into a contract with a local house painting firm to paint the classrooms in one of the district's elementary schools. The board estimates that the contract should cost less than $10,000. Which statement best describes bidding requirements under Illinois state law?
The contract is exempt from competitive bidding because it is valued at less than $25,000
Which of the following sources of information would best help a CSBO predict changes in salary schedules for the upcoming fiscal year?
The district's collective bargaining agreements
A CSBO is considering replacing business office software with a new software package that will speed up tasks such as inventory tracking, financial management, and maintenance scheduling. Which of the following criteria should be given the highest priority when considering the available packages?
The extent to which staff will need to be trained on the software
In which of the following circumstances would a student be eligible for free school breakfasts and lunches under the National School Lunch Program without verification of family income eligibility?
The family is currently receiving aid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
A school district is replacing outdated equipment in the high school's science lab, and would like to sell the surplus equipment to any interested buyer. According to IL state law, the minimum price that the district should ask for the equipment is set by:
The local School Board
The planning committee holds a series of meetings to determine educational priorities for the next 5 years. Several members of the team would like to prioritize the adoption of new instructional technology. The CSBO can best contribute to the team's decision making by providing information on:
The opportunity costs of adopting the new technology
Which of the following statements best describes segregation of duties as it relates to the purchasing process?
The person approving a purchase is different from the one requesting the purchase.
Under IL state law, which of the following elements must be included as a significant factor in a district's evaluation plan for its teachers?
The personal and intellectual growth of students in the teacher's classes.
In evaluating school district programs, decisions about the types of data that will be collected are typically driven by:
The purpose and specific goals of the evaluation
Under IL state law, which of the following authorities enforces the health and safety provisions related to school construction and maintenance, and is responsible for scheduling and carrying out inspections to ensure that these provisions are being followed?
The regional superintendent of schools
Under the evidence-based funding (EBF) model formula, the adequacy target for each school district in Illinois is based on:
The unique needs of the district's student population
A disadvantage for school district of using a cash basis system of accounting rather than accrual basis accounting is that typically, in cash basis accounting:
Timing of receipts and revenues is less predictable, limiting a district's ability to match revenues and expenses.
A school district would be most likely to issue a refunding bond for which of the following reasons?
To pay off principal and interest on an outstanding bond at a lower rate of interest
Under Illinois state law, school boards are able to make transfers between line items to another within an individual fund without revisiting the district budget, but must observe which restriction?
Transfers between line items in any fund in total cannot exceed 10% of the total budget for the fund
A CSBO is planning the purchase of new laptop computers and tablets for district schools. When determining costs, it is important for the business official to consider that such devices:
Typically require replacement or upgrade within a few years
As part of school improvement efforts, district admin identify target areas for increasing student achievement. Building-level leaders then organize workshop for teachers and parents/guardians at schools, focusing on classroom strategies to address each target area, as well as activities and materials parents/guardians can use with students at home. Which of the following outcomes is likely to be a benefit of this strategy?
Utilizing family and community resources to support student learning
One important reason for school districts to calculate depreciation for fixed assets such as equipment, building materials, and facilities systems is to determine the:
Value of the asset at any one point in the time for insurance purposes
