HB2561 SFAT TRUMP 4-5

Hager 7871

Senator Trump moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:

Eng. Com. Sub. for House Bill 2561--A Bill to repeal §11-6A-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §11-8-6f and §11-8-12 of said code; to amend and reenact §18-9A-2, §18-9A-4, §18-9A-5, §18-9A-6a, §18-9A-7, §18-9A-9, §18-9A-10 and §18-9A-11 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-9A-25; to amend and reenact §18-9D-2, §18-9D-3, §18-9D-4c and §18-9D-16 of said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto two new sections, designated §18-9D-4d and §18-9D-22, all relating to public school support; repealing code section pertaining to tax treatment of wind power projects; removing limit on increase in total property tax revenues if the current regular levy rates of the county boards of education were to be imposed; requiring each county board of education to establish its regular levy rates each year up to the statutory maximum levy rates; allowing a county board to change its proposed regular levy rates from the original proposed levy rates in its required statement to the Auditor; deleting required periodic legislative review of definition of “net enrollment”; changing term “levies for general current expense purposes” to “maximum levies for general current expense purposes” and modifying the definition to mean ninety percent of the maximum levy rates for county boards of education; determining allowance for fundable professional educators at set ratio, rather than the number employed subject to a limit; providing for determination of allowance for fundable positions in excess of number employed; deleting expired provisions; basing minimum professional instructional personnel required on percent of fundable professional educators or the number employed, whichever is less; providing for prorating professional instructional personnel among participating counties in joint school or program or service; removing penalty for not meeting applicable professional instructional personnel ratio for 2017-2018 school year; deleting expired provisions; deleting required periodic legislative review of density category ratios; determining allowance for fundable service personnel at set ratio, rather than number employed subject to a limit; providing for determination of allowance for fundable positions in excess of number employed; providing for proration of number and allowance of personnel employed in part by state and county funds; adding professional student support personnel allowance to calculation of Teachers Retirement Fund allowance; basing Teachers Retirement Fund allowance on average retirement contribution rate of each county and defining “average rate”; allowing limited portion of funds for bus purchases to be used for facility and equipment repair maintenance and improvement or replacement or other current expense priorities if requested and approved by state superintendent following verification; changing calculation of allowance for current expense from percent allowances for professional and service personnel to county’s state average costs per square footage per student for operations and maintenance; basing the allowance to improve instructional programs and instructional technology on the portion of the increase in local share amount for the next school year that is due to an increase in assessed values only; removing authorization for use of instructional improvement funds for implementation and maintenance of the uniform integrated regional computer information system; increasing percentage of allocation for the improvement of instructional programs that can be used to employ school personnel; removing requirement for fully utilizing applicable provisions of allowances for professional and service personnel before using instructional improvement funds for employment; removing restriction limiting use of new instructional improvement funds for employment except for technology system specialists until certain determination made by state superintendent; authorizing use of instructional technology improvement funds for employment of technology system specialists and requiring amount used to be included and justified in strategic technology plan; specifying when certain debt service payments are to be made into School Building Capital Improvement Fund; authorizing use of percentages of allocations for improving instructional programs and improving instructional technology for facility and equipment repair, maintenance and improvement or replacement and other current expense priorities and for emergency purposes; requiring amounts used to be included and justified in respective strategic plans; basing the computation of local share on the maximum levies for general current expense purposes; making the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind eligible to participate in any and all funding administered or distributed by the West Virginia School Building Authority; and requiring the School Building Authority to maintain a reserve fun for the purpose of making emergency grants to financially distressed county boards for certain purposes.