Senate Bill No. 604
(By Senators Unger, Helmick, Sharpe, Chafin, Plymale, Prezioso,
Edgell, Love, Bailey, Bowman, Minear, Boley,
Facemyer, Yoder, Guills and Sprouse)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 18, 2005]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-9A-15 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring the Legislature to
make an appropriation for increased enrollment; requiring the
State Board to promulgate a rule establishing a method of
projecting the increase in net enrollment in each school
district; requiring the State Superintendent to make
projections of increased enrollment; requiring two allocations
to counties with increased enrollment, the first being based
on projected enrollment and the second being determined in a
manner requiring the total of the two allocations be based on
the actual increase in enrollment; requiring school districts
with a projected increase enrollment to refund a certain
amount of the first allocation in certain instances; and
including students who have not attained the age of five.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-9A-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-15. Allowance for increased enrollment.
(a) To provide for the support of increased net enrollments in
the counties in a school year over the net enrollments used in the
computation of total state aid for that year, there shall be
appropriated for that purpose from the general revenue fund an
amount
equal to the average total state aid per net pupil
multiplied by the total of all of the increases in the net
enrollments of the counties made by comparing the most recent
reports of net enrollment for the second school month to the
immediately previous year's reports for the same school month to be
determined in accordance with this section.
Upon determination of the several increases in the respective
counties' net enrollments, as of the close of the second school
month, each county showing such increase shall be allocated an
amount equal to that county's average per net pupil total state aid
multiplied by the increase in that county's net enrollment
determined as provided heretofore. Such allocations shall be
distributed not later than the thirty-first day of December of each
year to the counties having increases in net enrollment as
heretofore provided.
(b) On or before the first day of September, two thousand five, the State Board shall promulgate a rule pursuant to article
three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that establishes an
objective method for projecting the increase in net enrollment for
each school district. The State Superintendent shall use the
method prescribed by the rule to project the increase in net
enrollment for each school district.
(c) The State Superintendent shall multiply the average total
state aid per net pupil by the sum of the projected increases in
net enrollment for all school districts and report this amount to
the Governor for inclusion in his or her proposed budget to the
Legislature. The Legislature shall appropriate to the West
Virginia Department of Education the amount calculated by the State
Superintendent and proposed by the Governor.
(d) The State Superintendent shall calculate each school
district's share of the appropriation by multiplying the projected
increase in net enrollment for the school district by the average
total state aid per net pupil and shall distribute sixty percent of
each school district's share to the school district on or before
the first day of September of each year. The State Superintendent
shall make a second distribution of the remainder of the
appropriation in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.
(e) After the first distribution pursuant to subsection (d) of
this section is made and after the actual increase in net
enrollment is available, the State Superintendent shall compute the total actual amount to be allocated to each school district for the
year. The total actual amount to be allocated to each school
district for the year is the actual increase in the school
district's net enrollment multiplied by the average total state aid
per net pupil. The State Superintendent shall make the second
distribution to each school district in an amount determined so
that the total amount distributed to the district for the year, in
both the first and second distributions, equals the actual increase
in net enrollment multiplied by the average total state aid per net
pupil. The State Superintendent shall make the second distribution
on or before the thirty-first day of December of each year:
Provided, That if the amount distributed to a school district
during the first distribution is greater than the total amount to
which a district is entitled to receive for the year, the district
shall refund the difference to the Department of Education prior to
the thirtieth day of June of the fiscal year in which the excess
distribution is made.
(f) If the amount
appropriated for this purpose shall of the
appropriation for increased enrollment is not
be sufficient to
provide payment in full for the total of these several allocations,
each county allocation shall be reduced to an amount which is
proportionate to the appropriation compared to the total of the
several allocations and the allocations as thus adjusted shall be
distributed to the counties as provided in this section:
Provided, That the Governor shall request a supplemental appropriation at the
next legislative session for the reduced amount.
(g) No provision of this section shall be construed to in any
way affect the allocation of moneys for educational purposes to a
county under other provisions of law.
Except for those students who are enrolled in special
education programs, students who have not attained the age of five
prior to the first day of September shall not be included for any
purpose of this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any
specific level of funding by the Legislature.