Brief(1)
S.B. 447 amends the school finance law and contains an appropriation for innovative program assistance (Educational Excellence Grant Program). The amendments take effect for the 1998-99 school year. The appropriation is for FY 1999. The main provisions of the bill are summarized below.
Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) is increased by $45--from $3,670 to $3,715.
Correlation weight is applied to all school districts having enrollments of 1,760 and over. (This weight currently applies to all school districts with enrollments of 1,800 and over.)
The at-risk pupil weight is increased from 6.5 percent to 8.0 percent.
An amount equal to $29 per full-time equivalent pupil is distributed to all school districts having enrollments of 1,200 to 1,759.
$1.5 million is appropriated as a line item for innovative program assistance (Educational Excellence Grant Program) for competitive grants to school districts to support structured mentoring programs, including the HOSTS program, in reading, mathematics, language arts, or Spanish language arts.
Background
S.B. 447, as introduced, contained the Governor's school finance recommendations except for the proposal to reduce the uniform property tax rate from 27 mills to 23 mills, which is contained in H.B. 2642 and has been added to S.B. 500 (one-year version). The formula changes were:
BSAPP was to be increased by $35--from $3,670 to $3,705.
The correlation weight was to be applied to all school districts having enrollments of 1,775 and over.
The at-risk pupil weight was to be increased from 6.5 percent to 8.0 percent.
The following table contains a comparison of the main provisions of current law, the Governor's proposal, and the Senate Education Committee's plan.
| Comparison of School Finance Plans | |||
| Senate | |||
| Current | Governor's | Education | |
| Law
|
Plan
|
Comm. Plan
| |
| BSAPP | $3,670 | $3,705 | $3,715 |
| Correlation Weight | 1,800 & over | 1,775 & over | 1,760 & over |
| At-Risk Pupil Weight | 6.5% | 8.0% | 8.0% |
| FTE Distribution Districts 1,200-1,759 | N/A | N/A | $29 |
| "New" Innovative
Program Assistance |
N/A | N/A | $1.5 million |
Shown below is a comparison of the estimated increased cost to the State General Fund in FY 1999 of the Governor's plan and the Senate Education Committee's plan.
| S.B. 447 Added Costs Above Current Law
(Amounts in Millions) | ||
| Senate | ||
| Governor's | Education | |
| Plan
|
Comm. Plan
| |
| BSAPP | $19.9 | $25.4 |
| Correlation Weight | 10.0 | 16.0 |
| At-Risk Pupil Weight | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| FTE Distribution Districts 1,200-1,759 | N/A | 1.0 |
| "New" Innovative
Program Assistance |
N/A
|
1.5
|
| TOTAL | $35.9
|
$49.9
|
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.