Enrolled Version - Final Version
Senate Bill 604 History
OTHER VERSIONS -
Introduced Version - Originating in Committee
|
Engrossed Version
|
| Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 604
(By Senators Unger, Helmick, Sharpe, Chafin, Plymale, Prezioso,
Edgell, Love, Bailey, Bowman, Minear, Boley,
Facemyer, Yoder, Guills and Sprouse)
____________
[Passed April 9, 2005; to take effect July 1, 2005.]
____________
AN ACT
to amend and reenact §18-9A-15 and §18-9A-22 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to allowances of
public school support; requiring appropriation for increased
enrollment based on projection; requiring initial distribution
to be based on projection; requiring refund in certain
instances; including students who have not attained the age of
five
; and authorizing grant allowances for certain counties
with low student net enrollment under certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-9A-15 and §18-9A-22 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all 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 to be determined in accordance with this section.
(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 of the appropriation for increased
enrollment is not 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.
§18-9A-22. Allowance to improve economies of scale of low student
enrollment counties.
(a) The Legislature finds that counties whose net enrollment
falls below a certain level may not have the economies of scale to
support the proper operation of the school system and the education
of their students. The Legislature further finds that to make a
determination of whether additional assistance is needed by such a
county, and if it is, then in what form and amount, it is necessary
to examine the local circumstances and ensure the efficient use of
available resources. Therefore, the purpose of this section is to
provide a process for examining the economies of scale of counties
with low student net enrollment and providing additional assistance
to them if necessary, including, but not limited to, the grant of
funds.
(b) Upon the written request of a county with a student net enrollment of less than one thousand four hundred students, the
State Superintendent shall examine whether all of the resources
available to the county are being efficiently utilized and whether
additional assistance is needed within the county to improve its
economies of scale. The State Superintendent may take any of the
following actions:
(1) If the State Superintendent finds that all of the
resources of the county are not being used efficiently, the State
Superintendent shall recommend areas of improvement to the county
and, if requested by the county, may provide technical assistance
to make the improvements;
(2) If the State Superintendent finds that additional
assistance is needed to improve the economies of scale of the
county, the State Superintendent shall determine whether the
economies of scale may be increased with additional resources
through the regional education service agency, through cooperative
agreements with adjoining counties and by technical assistance and
other programs available to the State Superintendent. The State
Superintendent shall take the actions that are within his or her
authority to increase the economies of scale of the county through
these means; and
(3) If the State Superintendent finds that additional
assistance is needed to improve the economies of scale of the
county after the actions provided in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection are exhausted, the State Superintendent may,
subject to appropriations made by the Legislature therefor, make a
grant of funds to the county to assist in improving its economies
of scale. The grant of funds may include any restrictions,
conditions and purposes that the State Superintendent determines
necessary to improve the economies of scale of the county.