HB 2245 -- SCHOOL FUNDING (Bivins)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN:  Committee on Elementary and Secondary
Education

This bill changes the laws regarding school funding.  In its main
provisions, the bill:

(1)  Extends the phase-in of the school funding formula enacted
by Senate Bill 287 in 2005 from the 2012-2013 school year to the
2016-2017 school year and changes the payment percentages that
are based on the new and old formulas (Sections 163.031.4(7) -
163.031.4(11), RSMo);

(2)  Allows the General Assembly to appropriate more funds than
required by the phase-in percentages for any particular school
year and requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education to adjust the phase-in percentages to accommodate the
total amount of available appropriations in order to distribute
100% of the total amount of appropriated funds (Section 163.031.4
(12));

(3)  Requires the department to reduce the payment amounts
awarded to all school districts, including hold harmless
districts if:

(a)  The school funding formula appropriation is equal to or
greater than the state aid expenditure for Fiscal Year 2010 and
the previous year's expenditure but is insufficient to fully fund
the applicable phase-in percentages for the formula during that
school year or if the Governor withholds the current year
appropriations with the effect of reducing the appropriation to
below full funding; or

(b)  The school funding formula appropriation is less than the
actual state aid expenditure for Fiscal Year 2010, if the school
funding formula appropriation is less than the previous fiscal
year's expenditure, or if the Governor withholds current year
appropriations with the effect of reducing the appropriation to
below these levels (Sections 163.031.4(12) and 163.031.4(13));

(4)  Requires the department to calculate a uniform proportional
reduction percentage based on all available school funding
formula state aid to be applied to the payment amount to which
all districts would otherwise be entitled under the applicable
phase-in percentages (Sections 163.031.4(12) and 163.031.4(13));

(5)  Repeals the provisions regarding the penalty imposed on a
school district experiencing a decrease in summer school average
daily attendance which terminated at the end of the 2008-2009
school year (Section 163.031.4(15));

(6)  Limits state reimbursement for summer school average daily
attendance, beginning with school year 2010-2011, to only include
attendance hours of students based exclusively on academic areas
of study for credit-bearing courses or remedial courses that are
necessary for a student to advance to the next grade.  Each
school district must verify to the department that its summer
school program conforms to these requirements.  A school district
may offer a nonacademic or enrichment summer school program at
its own expense.   The summer school average daily attendance
reimbursement is limited to the total number of hours calculated
by multiplying 15% of a district's January membership for a
maximum of six hours a day for 20 days (Section 163.036);

(7)  Revises the small school grant to exclude summer school
attendance from the average daily attendance count of 350 or
fewer students; requires the appropriation of an additional $5
million to be distributed to districts based on their average
daily attendance for the regular school year upon the earlier of
the completion of the school funding formula phase-in or the
fiscal year after the first fiscal year in which the formula is
fully funded; and extends a proportionally decreasing payment to
districts that have 351 to 449 average daily attendance (Section
163.044);

(8)  Removes the requirement but allows the General Assembly to
make an annual appropriation to the Missouri Career Development
and Teacher Excellence Plan, commonly known as the Career Ladder
Program.  Beginning in Fiscal Year 2012, the state portion of
career ladder payments will only be made available to school
districts if an appropriation is made.  Any state appropriation
must be made prospectively in relation to the year in which work
under the program is performed.  A school district may fund the
program for its teachers for work performed in years for which no
state appropriation is made available.  The variable match
formula of the program is removed and requires the payment to be
on a matching basis with 60% local funding and 40% state funding
(Sections 168.500 and 168.515);

(9)  Removes the provision with specifies that no fees can be
charged for Parents As Teachers services, clarifies that families
with children younger than under the kindergarten entry age will
be eligible to receive specified services, requires priority to
be given to high-needs families according to department criteria,
and allows school districts to establish cost-sharing strategies
for these services (Section 178.697);

(10)  Allows any school district that has levied a voter-approved
separate tax rate for different subclasses of real property and
personal property or a tax rate increase before August 28, 2010,
to use those rates for the single rate calculation using the
specified blended rate calculation method (Section 1); and

(11)  Repeals a provision that requires an additional per-pupil
weight to be added to summer schools attendance after the 2009-
2010 school year if summer school attendance statewide drops
below a specified level (Section 163.037).

The provisions of the bill regarding the Parents as Teacher
Program will expire December 31, 2015.

The bill contains an emergency clause for the provisions
regarding the school funding formula, summer school
reimbursement, and small school grants.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Income on General Revenue Fund of
Expected to exceed $100,000 in FY 2011, FY 2012, and FY 2013.  No
impact on Other State Funds in FY 2011, FY 2012, and FY 2013.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:13 pm