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H.B. 173 Enrolled

             1     

NECESSARILY EXISTENT SMALL SCHOOLS FUNDING

             2     
AMENDMENTS

             3     
2013 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: Kraig Powell

             6     
Senate Sponsor: Kevin T. Van Tassell

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This bill modifies provisions relating to funding for necessarily existent small schools.
             11      Highlighted Provisions:
             12          This bill:
             13          .    provides that a portion of total necessarily existent small schools funding may be
             14      distributed in accordance with a formula that considers the tax effort of a local
             15      school board; and
             16          .    makes technical amendments.
             17      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             18          None
             19      Other Special Clauses:
             20          This bill provides an effective date.
             21      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             22      AMENDS:
             23          53A-17a-109, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2003, Chapter 221
             24     
             25      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             26          Section 1. Section 53A-17a-109 is amended to read:
             27           53A-17a-109. Necessarily existent small schools -- Computing additional
             28      weighted pupil units -- Consolidation of small schools.
             29          (1) As used in this section:


             30          (a) "Board" means the State Board of Education.
             31          (b) "Necessarily existent small schools funding balance" means the difference between:
             32          (i) the amount appropriated for the necessarily existent small schools program in a
             33      fiscal year; and
             34          (ii) the amount distributed to school districts for the necessarily existent small schools
             35      program in the same fiscal year.
             36          [(1)] (2) (a) Upon application by [each] a school district, the [State Board of
             37      Education] board shall, in consultation with the local school [boards] board, classify
             38      [particular] schools in [each] the district as necessarily existent small schools, in accordance
             39      with this section and board rules adopted under this section.
             40          [(a) Applications] (b) An application must be submitted to the [state] board before
             41      April 2, and the board must report a decision to [each] a school district before June 2.
             42          [(b)] (3) The [state] board shall adopt standards and make rules to:
             43          [(i)] (a) govern the approval of [these] necessarily existent small schools consistent
             44      with principles of efficiency and economy and which shall serve the purpose of eliminating
             45      schools where consolidation is feasible by participation in special school units; and
             46          [(ii)] (b) ensure that districts are not building secondary schools in close proximity to
             47      one another where economy and efficiency would be better served by one school meeting the
             48      needs of secondary students in a designated geographical area.
             49          [(c)] (4) A one or two-year secondary school that has received necessarily existent
             50      small school money under this section prior to July 1, 2000, may continue to receive such
             51      money in subsequent years under [state] board rule.
             52          [(2)] (5) The [state] board shall prepare and publish objective standards and guidelines
             53      for determining which small schools are necessarily existent after consultation with local
             54      school boards.
             55          [(3) The additional] (6) (a) Additional weighted pupil units for schools classified as
             56      necessarily existent small schools [are] shall be computed using regression formulas adopted
             57      by the [state] board.


             58          [(a)] (b) The regression formulas establish the following maximum sizes for funding
             59      under the necessarily existent small school program:
             60          (i) [Elementary] an elementary school                160
             61          (ii) [One] a one or two-year secondary school            300
             62          (iii) [Three-year] a three-year secondary school            450
             63          (iv) [Four-year] a four-year secondary school            500
             64          (v) [Six-year] a six-year secondary school                600
             65          [(b)] (c) Schools with fewer than 10 students shall receive the same add-on weighted
             66      pupil units as schools with 10 students.
             67          [(c)] (d) The [state] board shall prepare and distribute an allocation table based on the
             68      regression formula to each school district.
             69          [(4)] (7) (a) To avoid penalizing a district financially for consolidating its small
             70      schools, additional weighted pupil units may be allowed a district each year, not to exceed two
             71      years.
             72          (b) The additional weighted pupil units may not exceed the difference between what
             73      the district receives for a consolidated school and what it would have received for the small
             74      schools had they not been consolidated.
             75          (8) (a) Subject to Subsection (8)(b), the board may distribute a portion of necessarily
             76      existent small schools funding in accordance with a formula adopted by the board that
             77      considers the tax effort of a local school board.
             78          (b) The amount distributed in accordance with Subsection (8)(a) may not exceed the
             79      necessarily existent small schools fund in balance of the prior fiscal year.
             80          [(c)] (9) A district may use the money allocated under this [subsection] section for
             81      maintenance and operation of school programs or for other school purposes as approved by the
             82      [state] board.
             83          Section 2. Effective date.
             84          This bill takes effect on July 1, 2013.


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