Brief ⁽¹⁾

HB 2557 adds a new Teachers' Enhancement for Affordable Community Housing (TEACH) weighting to the school finance formula.

The weighting is available only to school districts that have adopted a 25.0 percent local option budget and in which the average appraised value of single family residences is greater than 125.0 percent of the statewide average. The State Board of Education does the following:

1. Determines the statewide average appraised value of single family residences for the calendar year preceding the current school year.
2. 
   
   
   
   
3. Multiplies this amount by a factor of 1.25.
   
   
4. Determines the average appraised value of single family residences in the school district for the calendar year preceding the current school year.
   
   
5. Subtracts the amount determined under (2) from the amount determined under (3).

If the amount so determined is a positive number and the district has adopted a 25.0 percent local option budget, the district qualifies for teachers' enhancement for affordable community housing weighting.

1. Divides the amount determined under (4) by the amount determined under (2).
2. 
   
   
   
   
3. Multiplies the factor determined under (5) by .16.
   
   
4. Multiplies the district's state financial aid (general fund budget), excluding the amount determined under this provision, by the lesser of the factor determined under (6) or .10.
5. Divides the amount determined under (7) by the base state aid per pupil for the current school year. The quotient is the teachers' enhancement for affordable community housing weighting of the district.

Amounts a district receives from this weighting must be expended for enhancement of teachers' salaries.

A school district that qualifies for this weighting is authorized, subject to a 5.0 percent protest petition/election, to levy a property tax in an amount equal to the amount of the weighting. The State Board of Education certifies to the State Board of Tax Appeals the qualification of a district for authority to levy the tax. Tax levy proceeds are remitted to the State Treasurer and are credited to the State School District Finance Fund.

Background

The concept contained in HB 2577 was proposed by Representative Aurand. In his testimony, Representative Aurand explained that, because of the high cost of housing, a small number of school districts find it problematic to pay teachers enough for them to afford to live within the district. Representative Aurand explained that this is a challenge that can be easily resolved. Such districts, by virtue of their high property valuations, easily could raise the funds necessary to pay their teachers enough to live within the district; however, the current education funding formula does not allow them to do it. So, HB 2577 establishes a locally funded weighting with all of the money earmarked for enhanced teacher salaries.

The spokesperson for Blue Valley (USD 229) appeared as a proponent of the bill, especially as it contributes to school district local control. However, the spokesperson said that the plan should not be viewed as a substitute for placing adequate funding in the school finance formula for the benefit of all Kansans. The Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) opposed the bill because of its limited application. KASB and the School Finance Coalition believe that the need to enhance teachers' salaries is broader based.

Committee amendments added a protest petition/election provision on access to the property tax levying authority contained in the bill and limited the weighting to a maximum of 10.0 percent of a school district's general fund budget.

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.cgi