HB5453 Ellington AM 3-14 #1
Kidd 4753
Delegate Ellington moved to amend the Senate amendment on page 11, section 19, line 266, following the period at the end of the sentence and inserting the following new section:
(a) Base funding. –
(1) Effective for the school year 2027-2028 and continuing thereafter, all county boards of education in this state shall be funded by a block grant in the amount of $6,100 per enrolled student. For purposes of the base funding amount, county boards of education that have less than 1,200 enrolled pupils per county shall be funded at the minimum level of 1,200 pupils in that county.
(2) Public charter schools are not subject to the 1,200 minimum level provided for in subsection (1).
(3) Funding for public charter schools for the 2027-2028 school year and continuing thereafter shall be at the amount of $8,600 per student.
(b) Supplemental funding for special needs students. – Effective for the school year 2027-2028 and continuing thereafter, all school districts in this state shall receive additional funding through a fund hereby created and known as the "Supplemental School Aid Fund." This fund shall be appropriated by the Legislature, based upon the number of Tier II and Tier III special needs students the school district has. The funding shall be based on a per pupil allotment of $3,050 per Tier II, and $6,100 per Tier III special needs students. The primary purpose for this supplemental fund shall be for the benefit of Tier II and Tier III special needs students, but may additionally be utilized as otherwise set forth in subsection (c) of this section. After all funding has been provided for Tier II and Tier III special needs students, any additional funding may be provided for needs set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
(c) Additional supplemental funding. – Effective for the school year 2027-2028 and continuing thereafter, all school districts in this state may request funding for special cases through the Supplemental School Aid Fund created in subsection (b) of this section, which may include but is not limited to the following extraordinary expenses related to:
(1) Transportation;
(2) Vocational and technical education centers;
(3) Alternative learning centers;
(4) Pilot programs; and
(5) Locality pay.
(d) Discretion. – The funds available through subsection (c) of this section may be distributed as funds are available and at the discretion of the State Department of Education, unless otherwise directed by the Legislature.
(e) Classification. – School districts shall provide a written request to the State Department of Education to explain what additional funding they request based upon the items listed in subsection (c) of this section. The State Department of Education may distribute the money based upon the needs demonstrated per school district for the classifications set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
(f) Reporting. – The distribution of funds provided in this section shall be reviewed by the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability ("LOCEA") at least yearly. The State Department of Education shall prepare this report.
(g) Oversight. - The funds provided and distributed through this section shall be utilized at the discretion of the school district: Provided, That the Legislature shall maintain oversight in the event of maladministration by a school district and reserves the right to restrict funds to school districts that engage in maladministration.
(1) For purposes of this section, “maladministration” means the occurrence of one or more of the following actions or failures to act, as documented by financial records, audit findings, or statutory noncompliance, within the preceding 12 months:
(A) Failure to maintain reserve balances at or above levels required by statute or State Board of Education rule for two consecutive reporting periods without submission of a corrective action plan.
(B) Failure to submit required financial reports, audits, or WVEIS data by statutory deadlines or with material inaccuracies including, but not limited to, approval of expenditures that exceed gross revenue for more than one fiscal year.
Adopted
Rejected