Jordan School District
TO:
Principals
Principals,
Please re-share the link below with your faculty and staff that was recently posted in JEM. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to claim their personalized Walmart+ code.
GREAT NEWS! Board Purchases One Year of Walmart+ for Every JSD Employee
TO:
All JSD staff who use Qmlativ Finance
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator
The Accounting team has created instructions to learn how to complete journal entries, move money requests, entering E-checks, the availability and use of financial reports, and data conversion information. Use the quick links below to go directly to a section of interest. Please share this post with anyone you feel would benefit.
Journal entries to the same fund are operational and should be entered as usual.
Skyward Finance currently does not have the Due to/Due from offsets feature functioning for journal entries. The Due to/Due from offset is required when doing journal entries across funds. In order for Accounting to fix your JEs so they will process, please select your “Pay Other Loc” journal entry group. The correct journal entry group must be selected when you start your JE. It cannot be adjusted after the fact. For now, follow the instructions below to get your JE’s submitted to accounting who will fix the due to/from offset.
If your journal entry includes more than two funds, it will be easier to send them to Accounting to be entered. Please contact Accounting for instructions.
The “Pay Others Loc” Journal Entry Group should only be used in the situations above. For corrections within your own location, use the Journal Entry group with your location number.
The move money process task can be found in the “My Tasks and Processes” menu. Under my processes on the left side, select “Start a Process”. Click the “Start” play button next to the Payroll Move Money to a different account task.
As before, please enter the name of the employee for which payroll existing payroll charges need to be moved. Then click on the “form” hyperlink called “Payroll Move Money to Different Account”. A box will pop up alerting you that you will be opening a new browser tab. Click ok.
Another tab will open where you can enter check dates of pay to move. You must enter the dates you wish moved. Move moneys can only move payroll that has already been paid.
Enter either an amount, or a % to move for each account.
Enter the full account number of the incorrect account and the correct account. You can enter more than one account with a % split.
Please provide an explanation of the reason for the move money.
Please attach back up documentation at the bottom, under upload files.
At the top you can save and exit, which enables you to come back to this task at a later date, or submit form.
The following reports in the “accounts” menu have been created and tested by Accounting. With the exception of the encumbrance issue below, they are accurate and represent correct program accounting information.
JSD-Budget Report by Object - This report is a summary of revenues and expenditures. The input screens allow you to select the month, specific program, functions, and/or objects. The bottom of the report has a grand total of revenues, expenditures, and net activity.
JSD-Revenue and Expense Detail - This report lists the detail transactions by account for selected programs, functions, and/or objects.
Fund 21 Summary Reports are being tested now and will be available soon.
Remaining Balance Column
The remaining balance column on the account list screen and on all reports is calculated by subtracting activity and encumbrances from the revised budget column.
revised budget – activity – encumbrance = remaining balance
If an account has a zero budget the remaining balance column will always be negative. JSD does not budget every line item in most school allocations, Fund 21 or Fund 75 accounts. Thus, the remaining balance column should not be used to determine the “balance” left in an account. The subtotal amount on the account list screen will also net all numbers together, rather than calculating an actual remaining balance.
Presently, the “JSD Budget Report by Object” report (located in account/reports) can be run for specific accounts or groups of accounts and includes a calculated feature on the last page showing total revenues, total expenses, and NET balances. This balance can be relied upon to reflect the overall picture of an account (with the exception of the encumbrances section below).
Revenues are credit balances
This system displays revenues with their natural accounting credit balance on the account list screens. Credits to a revenue account increase the balance of a revenue. Credits are good, they mean you collected revenue. This is a difference from our old system. Please don’t be alarmed when seeing credit balances in revenue accounts.
The “JSD Budget Report by Object” report masks the sign of revenues and displays them as a positive balance, like the previous system. This report includes a calculated feature on the last page showing total revenues, total expenses, and NET balances. This balance can be relied upon to reflect the overall picture of an account (with the exception of the encumbrances section below).
Both representations are correct.
Encumbrances
Encumbrances related to PO’s did not convert into the new system 100% correctly. During conversion PO’s that were not fully closed or had line items that were not fully liquidated in the old system came into the new system as open PO’s. Some PO’s did not get closed fully in the old system before conversion. As a result, encumbrances are in varying states of accuracy. IT and our vendor are looking into this issue and working on suggested resolutions.
Until this is resolved be advised that budgets are accurate and activity (expenditures) converted accurately. As you are reviewing the status of your accounts, please carefully examine encumbrances to make sure they are reflecting correctly. You can review the SMS system(old system) to review specific details.
Revenue and Expenditure Detail Reports
A JSD Revenue and Expenditure Detail report has been created, but not made available district wide. We have not made this report available because transactions created by Echecks are not pulling into these detail reports correctly. The transactions exist and were converted into the new system, but for an unknown reason these transactions won’t pull into the detail reports. Reports run at the present are missing data and do not agree to summary reports.
Balances on the “JSD Budget Report by Object” are accurate and do include these transactions in the totals. We are awaiting the vendor to resolve this issue. Account details can still be obtained in the old system for transactions through April.
Skyward is working on this as of 05/13/2026 and are hopeful it will be resolved before the end of the month.
Batch name
The E-Check template has a batch name that is populated with abbreviations “ECHK” or “ECHK2”. Please do not edit this field. Leave this batch name as is, you do not need to change it.
Description to print on check
Adding an E-Check – Please make sure to include any information to help the vendor identify payments i.e.( account number, customer number, etc.) in the E-Check in the description code on the “Add Invoice” page (highlighted in red below). This description field prints on the memo line of the check. Please do not add your description to the “Save & Add Details” description box. This box does not print on the check.
Add check description after school name in red below:
Add any other detail that will helpful to you the invoice details description box below (in yellow). Please note that this field will not be printed on the check or be seen by the vendor.
If you have any questions, contact the Accounting team at 801-567-8266.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist
As a reminder regarding our Employee-Funded Sick Bank Policy:
1. Employees are automatically enrolled in the sick bank each year through the annual donation of one (1) annual leave day to the sick bank.
More information regarding the Employee-Funded Sick Bank can be found in policies, DP326NEG -Sick Leave-Educational Support Professionals and DP 324NEG-Sick Leave-Licensed.
For those who wish to opt out of participation in the Employee-Funded Sick Bank, keep an eye out for instructions starting in the July issues of JEM and JAM.
*First Year Educational Support Professionals and hourly employees are not eligible
for sick bank, therefore, a sick bank day will not be deducted (if applicable).
DATE:
May 14, 2026
TO:
Principals
Special Education Teachers (Preschool and School Age)
Speech-Language Pathologists
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
SUBJECT:
Extended Year for Special Educator Stipend Days 2025-26
The legislation allows a specific group of special educators to work up to 4 additional days for a $200/day stipend (plus applicable benefits). The Bill applies to Special Education Teachers (Preschool and School-Age) and Speech-Language Pathologists only (Speech-Language Technicians are not included). The number of days and stipend amount are based upon the educators assigned FTE equivalent. Teachers who have been hired with an Associate Educator License will count as licensed teachers and will be eligible for the stipend. Days can be worked 2 weeks before or after your contract.
Eligible staff that have days left to work, and did not work all of their allotted days in the fall, are required to complete an online survey to be paid for these days. After you have completed working the days, simply click on the link below to start the survey. Days worked must be full or half days and not a combination of assorted hours and must be worked in your assigned building(s).
The days available for you to work are: June 8-12th, 16-19th, and 22nd. Please remember that June 5th is the last contract day and June 15th is a holiday. These days do not count toward Extended Year Days.
It is important to remember:
Below is the link to submit the days after you have worked. When asked for the approver for your submission do not put your principal or LEA. Please put amanda.hamblin@jordandistrict.org so that the submission can be approved through the Special Education office and be sent to the State Office for payment. If you list your building supervisor as the approver, your request will not be submitted for payment.
https://usbe.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cYBjLsW7tzP9Nau
Please read the survey carefully, making sure you answer all of the questions listed, as you will be paid according to what the survey generates. Only those that complete the survey will be paid. Any timesheets submitted directly to the Special Ed. or Payroll departments will not be paid. Please note that the window for completing the survey closes June 26, 2026.
Please remember you cannot count the days you already worked and were paid for in the fall. You can only count the days you work after your last contract date at the end of the 2025-26 school year. The State Board of Education has discontinued any leniency on dates that you work. You may ONLY work and report the two weeks after your last contract day. Therefore, you will only be paid for dates that are between June 8 to June 22, 2026 (excluding weekends and holidays) and only the number of days you have remaining from fall 2025-26.
As you plan for the coming year, keep in mind the legislature will presumably award days for the 2026-27 school year, which you can begin working two weeks prior to your first contract day, which is August 10, 2026. More information about next year’s days will be forthcoming. If you have questions, or need help with the survey, please contact Amanda Hamblin at amanda.hamblin@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8177.
DATE:
May 14, 2026
TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
SUBJECT:
Free Safety & Behavior Conference
The S4K Safety & Behavior Conference is free for any administrator, teacher, or other educator that signs up. This conference is three (3) days of hands-on, real-world crisis response strategies for creating positive cultures through safety and support.
Topics include crisis prevention, de-escalation, mental health awareness, PBIS, MTSS, strategies to reduce bullying, implementing protective factors and strategies to build a safer, more connect school community.
Use this link to sign up if you are interested. The attached flyer provides more information about the conference, registration, and registration for larger school groups.
TO:
Administrators, Principals, School Admin Assistants
FROM:
Katie Bastian, Nutrition Services Director
Jordan School District Summer Meals Program will be offered at 4 school sites this summer. Meals are free for children 18 years of age and younger. Serving days and times are included on the attached flyers. Please share this information with your school community in the next couple of weeks before school is out.
TO:
Principals
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Special Education Administrator
Attached is the Special Ed Newsletter for May 2026
TO:
All administrators and Admin Assistants
FROM:
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets, and Audits
There was a problem with the posting of insurance to program accounts in the month of April. Therefore, reports sent in April are incorrect and the issue will be corrected as soon as possible once Qmlativ is up and running.
TO:
Administrators
Counselors
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language and Culture Services
Join Language and Culture Services for a training session on Discriminatory Language. We will explore the impact of discriminatory language in K-12 settings and provide recommendations to administrators and counselors on how to address discriminatory language. Several resources will be shared with participants, including a facilitated discussion guide to use with students.
You can select a morning session or an afternoon session.
TO:
All Employees
FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll
ANNUAL/PERSONAL LEAVE DURING THE LAST FIVE DAYS OF SCHOOL
May 29th – June 4th
All Licensed and ESP Employees
Per District policy, annual or personal leave days may not be used during the last five days of school, unless the leave reason is listed in policy as an exception. If any of the exceptions do apply, you must provide both the leave reason and the policy exception in the time off description. If these exceptions are not applicable, your annual/personal leave day will be changed to a no-pay day as per policy.
DP335NEG-Annual Leave-Licensed
DP335B-Annual Leave-Education Support Professionals
7. Annual leave shall not be taken during the last five (5) days that students are in school except under the following conditions:
a. To attend the wedding of a near relative including child, father, mother, brother, sister, grandchild, grandparents or same to one’s spouse or any other person who is a member of the same household as the employee.
b. To attend to personal or business matters which require the employee’s attendance and scheduling is beyond the employee’s control.
c. First year employees who notify their supervisor in writing that they are ill.
TEACHER CHECKOUT DAY – JUNE 5
All Licensed Employees
As per District policy, DP335NEG-Annual Leave-Licensed, licensed employees may not take annual/personal leave on the teacher checkout day on June 5th. However, through correlation with the principal, they may arrange to exchange this day for another non-contract day.
TIME TRACKING AND TIME OFF
Last Day of School - June 4
Please make sure all of your Time Tracking and time off is submitted and approved before leaving for summer break.
Last contract day for the 2025-26 school year
June 4th – last day of school (180 days)
June 5th – teacher checkout (184 and 187 days)
June 12th – last day for elementary administrative assistants (206 days)
June 19th – last day for extended teachers/specialists/coordinators (207 days)
Date:
April 30, 2026
To:
All Principals
All Budget Directors
From:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets & Audits
April Gaydosh, Administrator, Human Resources
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager, Information Systems
Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing
Subject:
2025-26 Year-End Finance Processing Deadlines
Please observe the attached critical deadlines regarding the financial year-end processes for the 2025-26 school year. Please review these dates as they could have a major impact on your location’s ability to operate.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist
The Jordan School District High School graduation dates and times will vary from school to school. Please see the attached 2025-26 High School Graduation Schedule.
Principals and Directors are encouraged to provide flexibility to parents or grandparents requesting the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremonies of family members.
Licensed employees are responsible for requesting a substitute through the Frontline Absence Management System, if applicable. In the blue “Notes to Administrator” box, the employee should add “graduation” along with his/her relationship to the graduate.
For additional assistance, please contact suboffice@jordandistrict.org.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
The following information pertains to Intern Educators, Intern Psychologists, or Intern Counselors graduating in 2026 that are assigned to your location.
Please excuse full time intern educators (BYU, U of U and UVU), intern school psychologists, and intern counselors to attend their own in-person Commencement OR Convocation ceremonies. They are eligible to enter their absence in Skyward under the “Other” Leave Code and the Absence Reason of, “District Excused”. Only one day can be coded as District Excused, and
should reflect their commencement or convocation date. Please confirm this date prior to approving in skyward. The following information should be included in the description in Skyward ‘0050- Intern In-Person Graduation UNIVERSITY NAME'.
The intern is responsible for requesting a substitute, if needed, through the Frontline Absence Management System. The absence reason entered should be ‘District Excused’ and in the blue notes to administrator box, the intern should add the following information; ‘District Excused 0050- Intern in- person graduation UNIVERSITY NAME’.
If you have questions as to whether your Intern has entered the time off in Skyward or Frontline appropriately, please contact suboffice@jordandistrict.org.
DATE:
April 28, 2026
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
SUBJECT:
Administrative Assignments
New Assignments effective July 2026:
Elementary School
Date:
April 30, 2026
To:
Administrators of Locations with Employees Paid with Federal Dollars
From:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator
Subject:
Federal Program Work Certification
Federal Regulations require the district to certify the payroll of any employee being paid with federal funds. Accounting identifies employees that meet this federal criteria and prepares certification forms by location. Principals and department heads please review the attached instruction memo and look for your payroll certification email the week of May 1, 2026. Certifications are due Friday, May 22, 2026.
Please review your certification ASAP and contact Natalie Grange if you have any questions or concerns. natalie.grange@jordandistrict.org, ext. 88312.
DATE:
April 30, 2026
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services
SUBJECT:
Change to 2026-27 School Year Calendar
To comply with recent legislative changes, the Board of Education has approved the following updates to the 2026-27 academic calendar.
Updated calendars have been posted on http://planning.jordandistrict.org/calendars/.
DATE:
April 15, 2026
TO:
All Administrators
All Financial Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent of Schools
John Larsen, Business Administrator
SUBJECT:
Staff Appreciation Funds (formerly known as Staff Discretionary Funds)
As a reminder, Staff Appreciation Funds have been allocated for all staff members (both licensed and ESP) for snacks, meals, etc. Please see the attached memo for an update clarifying unspent funds in that budget.
DATE:
April 30, 2026
TO:
All District Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services
SUBJECT:
“Anyone with the Link” Files in Google Drive (April 2026)
Throughout the District’s Google Drive system, there are numerous files that are set to be visible or editable by “anyone with the link.” There are a number of use cases where having publicly accessible files in Drive can be a benefit; however, these files often contain student or employee data that should not be publicly shared. Making this data publicly accessible can result in a data incident or breach.
Changes may be implemented in the future to reduce the possible risks of files shared to “anyone with the link.” At this time, however, all employees are requested to review their own Drive for files that may be shared incorrectly and to either delete the files or make the necessary adjustments to sharing.
The steps to accomplish this review are below, as well as the text of the directions which will be shared with employees in JEM. Principals are asked to remind faculty of this JEM item and/or to make time available for digital coaches to demonstrate how to search for files. No monitoring or reporting of completion is requested or required at this time.
Steps to Review Sharing:
These steps will show publicly shared files in a personal Drive only. Many files, particularly those with student data, are in Shared Drives. These steps will need to be repeated inside a Shared Drive to identify files that need review.
Lock Your Drive!
You wouldn’t leave your front door open when no one was home, or leave a car unlocked in a full parking lot, so why leave your files open and accessible? Across the District, a significant number of files in Google Drive have a sharing status where “anyone with the link” can view or edit. While this might be appropriate for certain situations, any file with student or employee data should only be shared with Jordandistrict.org - or better yet, only with those who have a legitimate need to access the file.
Checking your files is easy! Just do the following:
Once you have identified the files that are shared publicly, you should go through and ensure that any files containing student or employee data are no longer shared publicly. You can do this by right-clicking on a file and selecting the “Share” menu.
BONUS TIP! You may have files that are set to be publicly shared that are located all throughout your Drive. If these files need to be kept publicly accessible, consider making a folder in your Drive called “Public Files” and moving the files here. To add another layer of monitoring, you can add an indicator to the file name, such as “[PUBLIC]”, to make sure you remember these files are public and should not contain student or employee data.
TO:
Principals
Department Heads
FROM:
Mike Haynes, Director of Jordan Education Foundation
Only one week remains to nominate an ESP for the Outstanding ESP Awards. Don't miss out on the opportunity to let support staff know just how much they mean to the Jordan School District community! Nominate Now!
Top nominees will receive a $1,000 award, a commemorative plaque, and be recognized at the JSD Board of Education meeting in May.
Nomination Criteria & Guidelines
Please use the following criteria as a guide for your submission:
Know who you want to nominate? 👉 Submit Your Nomination Here
TO:
Assistant Principals
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
The May Assistant Principal meetings will be held on May 7 (8:00-11:00 am) and May 12 (8:00-11:00 am). All meetings will be held in person at JATC-South. All assistant principals and intern assistant principals are invited. A beverage service will be provided, beginning at 7:30 am at each of the meetings.
As a reminder, you only need to attend one of the sessions offered. Both sessions will provide the same information. Please sign up for the day you would like to attend. If you have any questions, please call Shannel Hooper at 801-567-8204 (x88204).
