Why the Annual Report Card Matters in Kentucky

Kentucky’s School Report Card Suite is designed to publish school- and district-level information annually and support transparency through dashboards and datasets.

Importantly for finance teams, Financial Transparency data is released annually in the spring after audited financial data is available, which means districts need accurate year-end figures and clean reporting workflows to hit the window.

The Challenge: Report Card Reporting Was Tedious, Time-Consuming, and Hard to Delegate

For Mercer County Schools, the annual School Report Card work was one of those tasks that “only happens once a year”—but consumes outsized time and attention when it arrives.

Before ThirdLine, the CFO had to pull and compile multiple Munis reports and validate them, a process made harder by a small finance team and the reality of turnover.

• Time burden: “When I first started, it definitely took a good half a day to day to just compile everything.”
  
  
• System friction: Reports could take time to run in Munis, and assembling the final picture required experience and “tips and tricks.”
  
  
• Training challenge: Teaching someone else how to pull all report card inputs the “right way” in Munis was a project in itself—especially with new staff learning the ropes.
  
  

The Solution: A Report Card Workflow Built for Finance Teams

Mercer County implemented ThirdLine primarily to streamline annual report card preparation—without changing their underlying Munis processes.

The district chose the solution after seeing it demonstrated with other Kentucky districts and realizing the value was immediate:

• A clearer way to view report card-related financial information
  
  
• Faster compilation compared to running and stitching together multiple Munis reports combined with other data
  
  
• A workflow that’s easier for a developing finance team to adopt over time
  
  

“The setup… was super easy… minutes compared to what it takes when you’re trying to pull all that information together.” - Amber Minor, CFO

Results: Faster Report Card Completion + Confidence to Hand It Off

1) Cut Report Card Prep from “a Day” to “Minutes”

With ThirdLine in place, Mercer County reduced the effort required to compile the annual report card package.

“I can get it down to probably less than an hour now.”

2) Easier to Verify, Easier to Explain

Instead of juggling multiple reports and reconciling outputs, the CFO could review report card-ready information in a more straightforward format—making it easier to validate and communicate internally.

“You can literally see it a lot easier on the platform.”

3) Makes Delegation Realistic

A major goal for Mercer County is transitioning ownership of the annual report card to developing staff over time. ThirdLine supports that shift by reducing dependence on one person’s Munis reporting expertise.

“Eventually I’d like my assistant finance officer to take that over… it’d be so much easier for her.”

Bottom Line

For Mercer County Schools, ThirdLine delivered a clear outcome: less time spent building the annual Kentucky School Report Card financial reporting, and more time back for everything else.

“The value is adding time back to your day… so you can focus on other things other than the reporting piece.”

‍