H.B. 173

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 None
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, "board" means the State Board of Education.
30 [(1)] (2) (a) Upon application by [each] a school district, the [State Board of
31 Education] board shall, in consultation with the local school [boards] board, classify
32 [particular] schools in [each] the district as necessarily existent small schools, in accordance
33 with this section and board rules adopted under this section.
34 [(a) Applications] (b) An application must be submitted to the [state] board before
35 April 2, and the board must report a decision to [each] a school district before June 2.
36 [(b)] (3) The [state] board shall adopt standards and make rules to:
37 [(i)] (a) govern the approval of [these] necessarily existent small schools consistent
38 with principles of efficiency and economy and which shall serve the purpose of eliminating
39 schools where consolidation is feasible by participation in special school units; and
40 [(ii)] (b) ensure that districts are not building secondary schools in close proximity to
41 one another where economy and efficiency would be better served by one school meeting the
42 needs of secondary students in a designated geographical area.
43 [(c)] (4) A one or two-year secondary school that has received necessarily existent
44 small school money under this section prior to July 1, 2000, may continue to receive such
45 money in subsequent years under [state] board rule.
46 [(2)] (5) The [state] board shall prepare and publish objective standards and guidelines
47 for determining which small schools are necessarily existent after consultation with local
48 school boards.
49 [(3) The additional] (6) (a) Additional weighted pupil units for schools classified as
50 necessarily existent small schools [are] shall be computed using regression formulas adopted
51 by the [state] board.
52 [(a)] (b) The regression formulas establish the following maximum sizes for funding
53 under the necessarily existent small school program:
54 (i) [Elementary] an elementary school 160
55 (ii) [One] a one or two-year secondary school 300
56 (iii) [Three-year] a three-year secondary school 450
57 (iv) [Four-year] a four-year secondary school 500
58 (v) [Six-year] a six-year secondary school 600

59 [(b)] (c) Schools with fewer than 10 students shall receive the same add-on weighted
60 pupil units as schools with 10 students.
61 [(c)] (d) The [state] board shall prepare and distribute an allocation table based on the
62 regression formula to each school district.
63 [(4)] (7) (a) To avoid penalizing a district financially for consolidating its small
64 schools, additional weighted pupil units may be allowed a district each year, not to exceed two
65 years.
66 (b) The additional weighted pupil units may not exceed the difference between what
67 the district receives for a consolidated school and what it would have received for the small
68 schools had they not been consolidated.
69 (8) An amount not to exceed five percent of the total necessarily existent small schools
70 funding may be distributed in accordance with a formula adopted by the board that considers
71 the tax effort of a local school board.
72 [(c)] (9) A district may use the money allocated under this [subsection] section for
73 maintenance and operation of school programs or for other school purposes as approved by the
74 [state] board.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-6-13 10:09 AM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

[Bill Documents]