Schedule 5.5 - Committed Capital Projects Funded by Accumulated Surplus, Committed Sinking Fund Interest Earned

This schedule has two tabs: Committed Capital Projects and Sinking Fund Interest.

TAB: Committed Capital Projects

This tab tracks all capital project expenditures that have been committed from the accumulated surplus. Committed capital projects are defined as those to which the board is legally committed. There are separate sections for depreciable capital projects and capital land projects.

Internally committed capital projects with no legal commitment yet:

Any projects that the school board has not legally committed yet should NOT be reported on Schedule 5.5. If the school board set aside accumulated surplus for capital projects through internal board motion or has an approval to proceed (ATP) for a project that is funded by accumulated surplus but spending on the project has not yet begun, please include the amount of accumulated surplus committed on Schedule 5, on any row between lines 2.30.1 and 2.30.5. Once the board is legally committed (e.g. the project has been tendered or costs incurred) the project can be moved to Schedule 5.5.

Depreciable Capital Projects

This portion of the schedule tracks the depreciable committed capital projects. Items on this portion are committed in the available for compliance, internally appropriated portion of accumulated surplus. The school board must set aside accumulated surplus to support the future amortization related to those projects and must record the continuity of the committed capital projects on this schedule. The total of the amounts tracked here are automatically populated on Schedule 5 at item 2.21.1. The depreciable project portion of the schedule is divided into four separate categories in order to track the amortization of projects that are exempted from the calculation of in-year deficit for balanced budget compliance purposes (calculated under O. Reg. 488/10):

1. Pre-September 1, 2010 projects

   • Report projects where the costs were incurred prior to September 1, 2010. Amortization expenses of these projects will be excluded from the calculation of the in-year deficit for balanced budget compliance purposes.

2. Ministry approved projects on or after September 1, 2010

   • Report ministry approved projects where the costs were incurred on or after September 1, 2010. Amortization expenses of these projects will be excluded from the calculation of the in-year deficit for balanced budget compliance purposes.

3. Non-ministry approved projects between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2019

   • Report non-ministry approved projects where the project costs were incurred between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2019. If the school board’s accumulated surplus at year-end is greater than or equal to 1% of their operating revenue, the amortization expenses of these projects will be excluded from the calculation of the in-year deficit for balanced budget compliance purposes.

4. Non-ministry approved projects on or after September 1, 2019

   • Report non-ministry approved projects where the project cost was incurred on or after September 1, 2019. Amortization expenses of these projects will NOT be excluded from the calculation of the in-year deficit for balanced budget compliance purposes.

If there is a non-ministry approved project where the costs were incurred in multiple periods, (e.g. prior to September 1, 2010, between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2019 or on or after September 1, 2019), the school board should split the project and report the costs and amortization in different categories accordingly. For example, if 30% of a non-ministry approved project costs were incurred between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2019 and the rest will be incurred after September 1, 2019, the costs should be split into two projects and reported in category 3 and 4. Once the project is substantially completed and starts to report amortization, the amortization will be prorated and reported accordingly based on the costs incurred in these periods.

For projects that are exempt from the calculation of in-year deficit for compliance purposes, the related amortization expense is removed from the compliance section of Schedule 5 through adjustments calculated at items 2.21.2 and 4.5. Please refer to the Schedule 5 instructions for more details.

Capital Land Projects

This portion of the schedule tracks all non-depreciable capital project expenditures that have been committed from the accumulated surplus. Items on this portion are committed in the unavailable for compliance portion of accumulated surplus. The total of the amounts tracked here, along with other revenues recognized for land, are automatically populated on Schedule 5 at item 4.7.

Column Descriptions

Column 1: Project Description

School boards must enter the type of capital (Building-40 years, Computers, Land, etc.) and the name of the project, if applicable, in this column. The text in this column has been preloaded from the values in the 2024-25 Revised Estimates, and can be adjusted, if necessary.

Column 2: Ministry Approval Amount to be funded from surplus

For projects that are approved by the ministry to be funded by accumulated surplus, enter the approved amount based on the approval letter from the ministry. For projects that do not require ministry approval and which the board has decided to fund by accumulated surplus (e.g. computer network upgrade/installation), leave this cell blank.

Column 3: Acc. Surplus at Sept 1 committed to fund projects

This is the opening balance of accumulated surplus set aside for a committed capital project. The amounts loaded in this column are based on the board-submitted closing balances reported on this schedule in the 2024-25 Revised Estimates, and can be adjusted to latest data, if necessary.

Column 4: Projects - Remaining Service Life

This column is only applicable for the depreciable projects section of the form. Enter the remaining service life for the capital project. That is, if the school board committed to a 40 year building, enter 40 under this column. In the subsequent year, decrease the RSL by 1.

Column 5: Amount of Projects Committed in Current Year from Prior Years Surplus

Enter the amount committed from the opening accumulated surplus in 2025-26 for a committed capital project in this column. Only positive values should be entered here.

• The total depreciable projects amount from this column is populated on Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, column 2.

• The total land projects amount from this column is populated on Schedule 5, item 4.7, column 2.

• On Schedule 5, enter a corresponding negative value in column 2 of the line from which the opening balance is being committed.

Column 5.1: Amount Committed from In-Year Surplus

Enter the amount committed in 2025-26 for committed capital projects funded by the in-year surplus in this column. On Schedule 5, the amount entered here will reduce the operating accumulated surplus at item 1.1, column 3.

Column 6: Committed Capital - Amortization

This column is only applicable for the depreciable projects section of the form. Enter the yearly amortization in this column for each committed capital project as a negative number.

Column 6.1: Committed Capital - Amount Released in Current Year

When an asset is sold that had been funded by accumulated surplus, the accumulated surplus is released, and is automatically transferred to Schedule 5, item 1.1, column 3 (operating accumulated surplus) when the amount is entered in column 6.1. The amount should be input here as a negative value.

Column 7: In-Year Increase (Decrease)

This column calculates each project’s total change from in-year surplus (deficit). It is calculated as the sum of columns 5.1, 6, and 6.1.

• The amount calculated on the total depreciable capital projects line is populated to Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, column 3.

• The amount calculated on the total capital land projects line is combined with other in-year transactions from Schedule 5.6, and the total is then populated to Schedule 5, item 4.7, column 3.

Column 8: Acc. Surplus at Aug 31 committed to fund projects

This column is the sum of columns 3, 5, and 7. For depreciable capital projects, this closing balance is forwarded to Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, column 4. For capital land projects, the balance is included on Schedule 5, item 4.7, column 4.

TAB: Sinking Fund Interest

Per PS 3100.13, interest earned on sinking funds is to be recognized in revenue when earned. The compliance shortfall due to the exclusion of sinking fund interest from DCC will be managed from the interest earnings over the average remaining service life of the assets. The ministry will be tracking interest earnings to allow school boards to use any excess for other operating purposes once the requirements to repay the funds are met. This amount is calculated on this schedule, starting at item 13.

Committed Sinking Fund Interest Earned

Items 8 to 12 calculate the portion of the sinking fund interest earned that is loaded to Schedule 5 at item 2.20.1. Note that the sinking fund interest earned is amortized over the life of the assets funded by sinking fund debentures, not over the term of the debenture. As such, this accumulated surplus amount will remain segregated on Schedule 5 after the debenture has been repaid, but before the corresponding assets have been fully amortized.

Item 8: Acc. Surplus at Sept 1 committed to fund SF

This is pre-loaded from the ministry-reviewed 2024-25 Revised Estimates. School boards can adjust the pre-loaded opening balance based on the latest data available. In the Revised Estimates cycle, the adjusted opening balance should reflect what would have been reported as closing balance in the 2024-25 Financial Statements. The value here populates Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 1.

Item 8.1: Amount Committed in Current Year from Prior Years Surplus

This is an input cell which allows school boards to set aside accumulated surplus to cover future years’ shortfalls in sinking fund interest. Enter the amount committed in 2025-26 for sinking fund interest using the opening accumulated surplus on this line. Only positive values should be entered here.

• The value entered here populates Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 2.

• On Schedule 5, ensure that a corresponding negative amount is entered on the line(s) where the opening accumulated surplus is being transferred from.

Item 8.2: Amount Committed from In-Year Surplus

This is an input cell which allows school boards to set aside a portion of the in-year surplus to cover future years’ shortfalls in sinking fund interest. Enter the amount committed in 2025-26 for sinking fund interest using the in-year surplus here. Only positive values should be entered.

• The value entered here is included in the value populated to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 3.

• On Schedule 5, the amount entered on this line will reduce the in-year operating accumulated surplus at item 1.1, column 3.

Item 9: In Year Increase (Interest on Sinking Fund Assets)

This cell contains the sinking fund interest earned in 2025-26, if the school board has not yet earned the total sinking fund interest excluded from DCC. This amount will equal Schedule 9, item 6.2.

• If, however, the school board earned a cumulative amount of interest in excess of the amount stated in the sinking fund agreement before 2025-26 (calculated at item 15 below), the amount here will be $0. This is because sinking fund earnings after this point will no longer need to be set aside for future amortization of unsupported capital assets. It will instead be included in the operating accumulated surplus at Schedule 5, item 1.1, column 3.

• The amount in this cell is included in the value populated to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 3.

Item 10: In Year Decrease (Usage of Sinking Fund)

This cell contains a calculated amount equal to the negative of the amount in Note 2, item 1. It calculates the usage of sinking fund interest to cover the revenue shortfall resulting from the exclusion of sinking fund interest from DCC.

• It is calculated as the interest earned and to be earned on sinking funds as at September 1, 2010, divided by the average remaining service life (in years) of the tangible capital assets as at August 31, 2010 (Note 2, item 2).

• The amount in this cell is included in the value populated to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 3.

Item 11: Excess Interest Earned to be reallocated

This amount is calculated as the negative of the amount at item 17. When the cumulative sinking fund interest earned by the school board reaches the total sinking fund interest excluded from DCC, any interest earned by the sinking fund assets is unrestricted and will not need to be set aside for future amortization of related assets. It will instead be included in the operating accumulated surplus at Schedule 5, item 1.1, column 3. The amount in this cell is included in the value populated to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 3.

Item 12: Acc. Surplus at Aug 31 committed to fund SF

This is the sum of items 8 to 11. The amount here equals Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, column 4.

Items 13 to 17

Sinking fund interest earned in excess of expected interest earned in the sinking fund agreements

Item 13: Committed Sinking Funds - Sinking fund interest to be excluded from DCC

This is the interest that is expected to be earned on the school board’s sinking funds during their life per the sinking fund agreement, and is pre-loaded based on ministry-reviewed 2010-11 Financial Statements, Note 2, item 1.

Item 14: Cumulative interest earned as at Aug. 31, 2025

This amount is pre-loaded based on ministry-reviewed 2024-25 Revised Estimates, Schedule 5.5 item 16. School boards can adjust the pre-loaded amount based on the latest information available.

Item 15: Interest earned in excess of sinking fund agreements in Prior Year

This amount is calculated as item 14 less item 13, 0 if negative. This calculation determines if the school board had met its required sinking fund interest earnings during 2024-25. It is used in the calculation of item 9 above.

Item 16: Cumulative interest earned as at August 31, 2026

This amount is calculated as item 9 plus item 14.

Item 17: Interest earned in excess of sinking fund agreements

This cell calculates a value if the school board has exceeded its required sinking fund interest earnings during the current school year. It is calculated as item 16 less item 13, if item 15 is zero. If the value is negative, then a $0 is populated.

• If the school board already fulfilled its required sinking fund interest earnings in a previous school year, then item 15 will be greater than zero and a value is not calculated here at item 17.

• The negative of the value calculated here is loaded to item 11 above.

Note 2: Calculation of sinking fund interest earned usage

Note 2, item 1: In-Year Decrease (Usage of sinking fund interest)

This cell is preloaded from the ministry-reviewed 2010-11 Financial Statements, Schedule 5.5, note 2, item 3. It represents the amount of sinking fund interest earned that will be used to cover the revenue shortfall each year resulting from the exclusion of sinking fund interest from DCC. This amount will be zero if the average remaining service life at note 2, item 2 is zero.

Note 2, item 2: Average Remaining Service Life of Assets

This cell is populated with the average RSL from Schedule 5.3, item 3.0 (or 3.1 if applicable), column 6 of the ministry-reviewed 2010-11 Financial Statements less the number of years since 2010-11.

Relationship to other schedules:

• The values related to committed capital projects from Schedule 5.5-1 populate Schedule 5 as follows:

  • Total depreciable capital projects, col. 3 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, col. 1.
  • Total depreciable capital projects, col. 5 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, col. 2.
  • Total land projects, col. 5 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 4.7, col. 2.
  • Total depreciable capital projects, col. 7 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, col. 3.
  • Total depreciable capital projects, col. 8 is equal to Schedule 5, item 2.21.1, col. 4.

• The total committed capital land projects, columns 5 + 7, populate Schedule 5.6, item 1.5, column 2.

• The values related to committed sinking fund interest from Schedule 5.5-2, items 8 to 12 populate Schedule 5, item 2.20.1 as follows:

  • Item 8 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, col. 1.
  • Item 8.1 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, col. 2.
  • The sum of items 8.2 + 9 + 10 + 11 is loaded to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, col. 3.
  • Item 12 is equal to Schedule 5, item 2.20.1, col. 4.