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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB125, HB597, and SB716

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

State Department of Public Education (SDE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 846 amends the Public School Code to require districts to calculate the number of program units for the state equalization guarantee using a school district's membership in the following manner: fiscal year 2000, membership on the district's prior year 40^th day; fiscal year 2001, membership on the district's prior year 70^th day; fiscal year 2002, membership on the district's prior year 100^th day; fiscal year 2003, membership on the district's prior year 130^th day; and fiscal year 2004, membership on the district's prior year 160^th day. Special education program units shall be calculated using the membership in special education programs on December 1.

Significant Issues

The Public School Finance Act currently requires the use of 40^th day and December 1 membership for calculation of program units for distribution of SEG funds.

During the 1998 interim, the State Department of Education examined student count issues in order to determine the most appropriate mechanism to count students for funding purposes. The department conducted a voluntary survey of school districts, requesting 20 day membership and attendance reports for the 1997-98 school year, twenty-seven districts responded. The results indicate that enrollment peaks at the 40^th day and is the lowest on the 180^th day which is also the last day of school for most districts. Averaging 20 day reports throughout the year resulted in an average enrollment slightly above half-way between enrollment fro the 40^th and 180^th days.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

SDE indicates that school districts currently maintain membership reports for each 20 school days. This bill would require districts to maintain membership reports for 70^th and 130^th days and could incur additional costs for these two reporting periods.

CONFLICT/DUPLICATION/COMPANIONSHIP/RELATIONSHIP

House Bill 125 amends the Public School Finance Act to require the use of prior year 40^th day and December 1 membership for calculation of program units for distribution of State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) funds. Current year adjustments for exceptional growth would remain in effect.

House Bill 597 amends the Public School Code to require districts to use either the average daily attendance report from the prior year or the average daily attendance report from the prior school year plus the average annual percentage MEM increase for the previous five school years in the calculation of program units for distribution of State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) funds. This bill also requires districts to submit class size and membership reports on the 40^th, 100^th, and 140^th days of the school year.

Senate Bill 716 amends the Public School Code to expand the definition of membership by specifying that students who are absent without permission are subject to disenrollment.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

According to SDE, school districts do not know their total operating resources until late January which results in budget delays on important decisions about educational programs.

The department also indicates that this bill does not account for exceptional growth experienced by some districts.

Included in the Public School Support package for fiscal year 2000, the State Board of Education endorsed the use of prior year 40^th day and December 1 enrollment with an adjustment for current year exceptional growth to support the board's policy of stable budgeting.

The Legislative Finance Committee did not endorse the request to use prior year 40^th day and December 1 membership for calculation of program units for distribution of State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) funds. The committee recommended no changes to current student count mechanisms, however, recommended that SDE require school districts to report student daily attendance data via the Accountability Data System, and that the department collect and compile attendance data from school districts and report to the Education Subcommittee, the feasibility of implementing an attendance based allocation system that provides positive incentives for retaining students for the 2000-2001 school year.

CTF/njw