0001|                           SENATE BILL 950
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0002|     43rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 1997
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0003|                            INTRODUCED BY
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0004|                          RICHARD M. ROMERO
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0005|     
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0006|                                   
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0007|     
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0008|                                   
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0009|     
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0010|                                AN ACT
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0011|     RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE; CREATING THE DROPOUT
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0012|     PREVENTION SCHOOLS ACT; AMENDING AND ENACTING CERTAIN SECTIONS
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0013|     OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE ACT; AUTHORIZING A REDUCTION IN
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0014|     THE STATE EQUALIZATION GUARANTEE DISTRIBUTION BASED ON SCHOOL
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0015|     DISTRICT DROPOUT RATES IN CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS; PROVIDING
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0016|     FOR A DISTRIBUTION TO CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND EXPENDITURE
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0017|     OF FUNDS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
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0018|     
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0019|     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0020|          Section 1.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1
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0021|     through 6 of this act may be cited as the "Dropout Prevention
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0022|     Schools Act".
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0023|          Section 2.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  DROPOUT PREVENTION SCHOOLS
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0024|     AUTHORIZED.--
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0025|               A.  The state board of education shall authorize the
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0001|     creation of a dropout prevention school for a period of five
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0002|     years.  At the end of the five years, a dropout prevention
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0003|     school shall reapply to the board to continue operation.
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0004|               B.  The state board of education shall authorize the
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0005|     existence of as many dropout prevention schools as are
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0006|     necessary to address the student dropout problem.
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0007|          Section 3.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  DROPOUT PREVENTION SCHOOLS
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0008|     CREATED.--
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0009|               A.  The state board of education shall authorize the
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0010|     existence of a dropout prevention school upon a finding that
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0011|     there are two hundred or more students in grades seven to
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0012|     twelve in a school district who are at risk of dropping out of
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0013|     school.
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0014|               B.  The local school board shall appoint a five-
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0015|     member board to govern dropout prevention schools.
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0016|               C.  An annual evaluation shall be conducted by the
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0017|     local school board based on the following:
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0018|                    (1)  academic achievement as measured by a five
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0019|     percent improvement on a yearly basis based on state assessment
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0020|     instruments currently used;
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0021|                    (2)  demonstrated improvement in student
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0022|     attendance records; and
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0023|                    (3)  improvement in graduation rates.
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0024|               D.  Teachers employed at a dropout prevention school
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0025|     shall receive an annual one percent salary increase based on
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0001|     merit as determined by the local school board.
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0002|          Section 4.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  DROPOUT PREVENTION SCHOOLS--
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0003|     COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE.--If necessary for the
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0004|     implementation of a dropout prevention school program, the
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0005|     local school board may apply to the state board of education
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0006|     for a waiver of Public School Code provisions relating to the
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0007|     length of school day, staffing patterns, subject areas or
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0008|     purchase of instructional material.  The state board of
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0009|     education may approve a request for a waiver upon a finding
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0010|     that the local school board has demonstrated accountability for
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0011|     student learning through alternative planning and that the
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0012|     participating teaching staff supports the implementation of a
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0013|     dropout prevention school program.  The local school board
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0014|     shall provide the state board with a program budget that shows
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0015|     the type and number of students served, the type and number of
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0016|     personnel involved and all expenditures of the waiver.
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0017|          Section 5.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
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0018|     REGULATIONS.--The state board of education shall adopt and
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0019|     publish rules to provide for the implementation of the Dropout
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0020|     Prevention Schools Act.
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0021|          Section 6.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  FUND CREATED.--
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0022|               A.  The "dropout prevention fund" is created in the
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0023|     state treasury and shall be administered by the state
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0024|     department of public education.  The fund shall consist of
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0025|     money transferred to the fund pursuant to Paragraph (7) of
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0001|     Subsection D of Section 22-8-25 NMSA 1978.  Balances in the
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0002|     fund at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the
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0003|     general fund.  Income from investment of the fund shall be
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0004|     credited to the fund.
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0005|               B.  Money in the fund is appropriated to the state
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0006|     department of public education for the purpose of funding
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0007|     dropout prevention programs in certain school districts.
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0008|          Section 7.  A new section of the Public School Finance
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0009|     Act, Section 22-8-24.1 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:
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0010|          "22-8-24.1.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  SCHOOL DISTRICT DROPOUT
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0011|     ADJUSTMENT--CALCULATION.--
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0012|               A.  The school district dropout adjustment is
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0013|     determined as follows:  (% of prior year dropouts in grades 9-
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0014|     12 - 6%) x (prior year MEM for grades 9-12 x 1.25) x current
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0015|     year program unit value.
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0016|               B.  The state board shall establish by regulation
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0017|     the method of calculating the prior year percentage dropout
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0018|     rate of a school district to be utilized in making the
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0019|     calculations required in Subsection A of this section."
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0020|          Section 8.  Section 22-8-25 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981,
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0021|     Chapter 176, Section 5, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 226,
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0022|     Section 23 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 231, Section 14) is
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0023|     amended to read:
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0024|          "22-8-25.  STATE EQUALIZATION GUARANTEE DISTRIBUTION--
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0025|     DEFINITIONS--DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.--
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0001|               A.  The state equalization guarantee distribution is
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0002|     that amount of money distributed to each school district to
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0003|     ensure that the school district's operating revenue, including
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0004|     its local and federal revenues as defined in this section, is
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0005|     at least equal to the school district's program cost.
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0006|               B.  "Local revenue", as used in this section, means
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0007|     ninety-five percent of receipts to the school district derived
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0008|     from that amount produced by a school district property tax
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0009|     applied at the rate of fifty cents ($.50) to each one thousand
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0010|     dollars ($1,000) of net taxable value of property allocated to
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0011|     the school district and to the assessed value of products
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0012|     severed and sold in the school district as determined under the
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0013|     Oil and Gas Ad Valorem Production Tax Act and upon the assessed
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0014|     value of equipment in the school district as determined under
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0015|     the Oil and Gas Production Equipment Ad Valorem Tax Act.
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0016|               C.  "Federal revenue", as used in this section,
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0017|     means ninety-five percent of receipts to the school district,
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0018|     excluding amounts which, if taken into account in the
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0019|     computation of the state equalization guarantee distribution,
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0020|     result, under federal law or regulations, in a reduction in or
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0021|     elimination of federal school funding otherwise receivable by
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0022|     the school district, derived from the following:
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0023|                    (1)  the school district's share of forest
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0024|     reserve funds distributed in accordance with Section 22-8-33
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0025|     NMSA 1978; and
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0001|                    (2)  grants from the federal government as
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0002|     assistance to those areas affected by federal activity
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0003|     authorized in accordance with Sections 236 through 240 of Title
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0004|     20 of the United States Code (commonly known as "PL 874 funds")
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0005|     or an amount equal to the revenue the district was entitled to
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0006|     receive if no application was made for such funds but deducting
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0007|     from those grants the additional amounts to which school
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0008|     districts would be entitled because of the provisions of
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0009|     Subparagraph (D) of Paragraph (2) of Subsection (d) of Section
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0010|     238 of Title 20 of the United States Code.
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0011|               D.  To determine the amount of the state
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0012|     equalization guarantee distribution, the state superintendent
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0013|     shall:
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0014|                    (1)  calculate the number of program units to
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0015|     which each school district is entitled using the membership of
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0016|     the fortieth day of the school year, except for school
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0017|     districts with a MEM of 200 or less where the number of program
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0018|     units shall be calculated on the fortieth day membership of
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0019|     either the prior year or the current year, whichever is
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0020|     greater, for all programs except special education, which shall
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0021|     be calculated by using the membership on December 1 of the
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0022|     school year; or
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0023|                    (2)  calculate the number of program units to
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0024|     which a school district operating under an approved year-round
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0025|     school calendar is entitled using the membership on an
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0001|     appropriate date established by the state board;
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0002|                    (3)  using the results of the calculations in
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0003|     Paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection and the instructional
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0004|     staff training and experience index from the October report of
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0005|     the prior school year, establish a total program cost of the
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0006|     school district;
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0007|                    (4)  calculate the local and federal revenues
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0008|     as defined in this section;
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0009|                    (5)  deduct the sum of the calculations made in
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0010|     Paragraph (4) of this subsection from the program cost
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0011|     established in Paragraph (3) of this subsection; <s>[and]</s>
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0012|                    (6)  deduct the total amount of guaranteed
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0013|     energy savings contract payments that the state superintendent
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0014|     determines will be made to the school district from the public
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0015|     school energy efficiency fund during the fiscal year for which
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0016|     the state equalization guarantee distribution is being
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0017|     computed; <u>and</u>
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0018|                    <u>(7)  deduct the amount calculated pursuant to
</u>    |
<u></u>0019| <u>    Section 22-8-24.1 NMSA 1978 to reflect the individual school
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<u></u>0020| <u>    district's dropout adjustment and transfer this amount to the
</u>    |
<u></u>0021| <u>    dropout prevention fund</u>.
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0022|               E.  The amount of the state equalization guarantee
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0023|     distribution to which a school district is entitled is the
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0024|     balance remaining after the deductions made in Paragraphs (5),
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0025|     <s>[and]</s> (6) <u>and (7)</u> of Subsection D of this section.
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0001|               F.  The state equalization guarantee distribution
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0002|     shall be distributed prior to June 30 of each fiscal year.  The
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0003|     calculation shall be based on the local and federal revenues
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0004|     specified in this section received from June 1 of the previous
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0005|     fiscal year through May 31 of the fiscal year for which the
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0006|     state equalization guarantee distribution is being computed. 
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0007|     In the event that a district has received more state
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0008|     equalization guarantee funds than its entitlement, a refund
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0009|     shall be made by the district to the state general fund.
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0010|               G.  Notwithstanding the methods of calculating the
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0011|     state equalization guarantee distribution in this section and
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0012|     Laws 1974, Chapter 8, Section 22, if a school district received
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0013|     funds under Section 2391 of Title 42 U.S.C.A. and if the
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0014|     federal government takes into consideration grants authorized
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0015|     by Sections 236 through 240 of Title 20 of the United States
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0016|     Code and all other revenues available to the school district in
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0017|     determining the level of federal support for the school
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0018|     district for the sixty-fourth and succeeding fiscal years, the
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0019|     state equalization guarantee distribution for school districts
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0020|     receiving funds under this subsection shall be computed as
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0021|     follows:
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0022|          fiscal year program cost           prior fiscal year
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0023|          excluding special education        state equalization
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0024|          for the year for which the         x    guarantee
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0025|     distribution
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0001|          state equalization guarantee       excluding special
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0002|          <u>distribution is being computed</u>        education 
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0003|          
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0004|          prior fiscal year program cost
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0005|          excluding special education
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0006|     plus special education funding in accordance with Paragraphs
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0007|     (1) or (2) and (3) of Subsection D of this section and Section
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0008|     22-8-21 NMSA 1978 plus an amount that would be produced by
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0009|     applying a rate of eight dollars forty-two and one-half cents
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0010|     ($8.425) to each one thousand dollars ($1,000) of net taxable
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0011|     value of property as defined in the Property Tax Code for
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0012|     property taxation purposes in the school district and to each
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0013|     one thousand dollars ($1,000) of the assessed value of products
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0014|     severed and sold in the school district as determined under the
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0015|     Oil and Gas Ad Valorem Production Tax Act and upon the assessed
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0016|     value of equipment in the school district as determined under
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0017|     the Oil and Gas Production Equipment Ad Valorem Tax Act and
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0018|     then reduced by the total amount of guaranteed energy savings
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0019|     contract payments, if any, that the state superintendent
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0020|     determines will be made to the school district from the public
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0021|     school energy efficiency fund during the fiscal year for which
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0022|     the state equalization guarantee distribution is being
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0023|     computed, equals the fiscal year state equalization guarantee
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0024|     distribution for the year for which the state equalization
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0025|     guarantee distribution is being computed.
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0001|          If at any time grants from the federal government as
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0002|     assistance to those areas affected by federal activity
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0003|     authorized in accordance with Sections 236 through 240 of Title
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0004|     20 of the United States Code (commonly known as "PL 874 funds")
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0005|     are reduced or are no longer available, the state equalization
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0006|     guarantee distribution shall be computed by the formula
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0007|     contained in this subsection plus an increase by fifty percent
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0008|     of the amount the prior year's PL 874 funds exceed PL 874 funds
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0009|     for the year for which the state equalization guarantee
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0010|     distribution is being computed."
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0011|          Section 9.  A new section of the Public School Finance
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0012|     Act, Section 22-8-25.2 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:
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0013|          "22-8-25.2.  [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>]  SCHOOL DISTRICT DROPOUT
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0014|     ADJUSTMENT--TRANSFER OF FUNDS.--
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0015|               A.  The state superintendent, in calculating the
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0016|     state equalization guarantee distribution pursuant to Section
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0017|     22-8-25 NMSA 1978, shall determine and retain an amount equal
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0018|     to the school district dropout adjustment for each individual
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0019|     school district.
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0020|               B.  The state superintendent shall distribute to
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0021|     each district the amount retained for that school district's
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0022|     dropout adjustment from the dropout prevention fund.  The local
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0023|     school board in each district to which a distribution is made
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0024|     shall expend the money to implement or support alternative
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0025|     education programs in the district.  The local school board
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0001|     shall develop an evaluation plan for alternative education
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0002|     programs in the district as a condition precedent to expending
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0003|     the money.  In developing an evaluation plan the board shall
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0004|     give consideration to the following factors concerning the
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0005|     dropout rates in the district:
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0006|                    (1)  socioeconomic background of students
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0007|     dropping out;
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0008|                    (2)  scholastic achievement of students
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0009|     dropping out;
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0010|                    (3)  attendance of students dropping out;
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0011|                    (4)  percentage of students dropping out who
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0012|     entered and remained in alternative education programs; and
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0013|                    (5)  comparison of dropout students' scholastic
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0014|     achievement in regular public school programs and in
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0015|     alternative education programs.
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0016|               C.  Each local school board receiving a school
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0017|     dropout adjustment payment pursuant to this section shall
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0018|     prepare and submit to the state superintendent its evaluation
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0019|     plan developed by July 1 of each year."
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0020|          Section 10.  EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
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0021|     provisions of this act is July 1, 1998.
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0022|                                  
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0023|     
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0024|       
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0025|   
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0001|                      FORTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE           SB 950/a
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0002|                        FIRST SESSION, 1997
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0003|   
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0004|   
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0005|                                                   March 7, 1997
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0006|   
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0007|   Mr. President:
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0008|   
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0009|       Your EDUCATION COMMITTEE, to whom has been referred
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0010|   
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0011|                          SENATE BILL 950
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0012|   
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0013|   has had it under consideration and reports same with
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0014|   recommendation that it DO PASS, amended as follows:
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0015|   
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0016|       1.  On page 2, line 25, strike "the local school board" and
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0017|   insert in lieu thereof "the evaluation conducted pursuant to
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0018|   Subsection C of this section".,
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0019|   

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0020|   and thence referred to the FINANCE COMMITTEE. 
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0021|                
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0022|                                Respectfully submitted,
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0023|   
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0024|   
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0025|   
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0001|                                
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0002|   __________________________________
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0003|                                Cynthia Nava, Chairman 
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0004|   
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0005|   
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0006|   
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0007|   Adopted_______________________   Not
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0008|   Adopted_______________________
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0009|             (Chief Clerk)                          (Chief Clerk)
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0010|   
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0011|   
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0012|                     Date ________________________
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0013|   
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0014|   
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0015|   The roll call vote was <u> 9 </u> For <u> 0 </u> Against
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0016|           Yes:    9
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0017|           No:     0
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0018|                Excused:     Maloof
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0019|           Absent: None
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0020|   
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0021|   
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0022|   
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0023|   
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0024|   
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0025| S0950ED1                                            .117633.1
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