HB 689-FN-A-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
18Feb2009… 0250h
2009 SESSION
04/03
HOUSE BILL 689-FN-A-LOCAL
AN ACT directing aid to isolated small schools.
SPONSORS: Rep. Rous, Straf 7; Rep. Almy, Graf 11; Rep. Kurk, Hills 7; Rep. Major, Rock 8; Rep. Foose, Merr 1; Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2
This bill defines “isolated small school” for the purpose of determining eligibility for additional funding.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
18Feb2009… 0250h
09-0696
04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT directing aid to isolated small schools.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Isolated Small Schools. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 40-d the following new section:
198:40-e Isolated Small Schools.
I. In addition to aid for the cost of the opportunity for an adequate education provided under RSA 198:40-a, and in addition to fiscal capacity disparity aid provided under RSA 198:40-c, a school district which operates an isolated small school shall receive an additional $450 per pupil in kindergarten through grade 12 of such school based on the isolated small school’s average daily membership in attendance (ADMA). The department shall disburse payments to the school district operating an isolated small school pursuant to the payment schedule set forth in RSA 198:42, I.
II. Beginning July 1, 2011 and every biennium thereafter, the department of education shall adjust the per-pupil amount of aid for isolated small schools under paragraph I based on the average change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, Northeast Region, using the “services less medical care services” special aggregate index, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. The average change shall be calculated using the 3 calendar years ending 18 months before the beginning of the biennium for which the calculation is to be performed.
III.(a) In this section, “isolated small school” means a school which is demographically limited and geographically isolated from other schools with children of comparable ages. An “isolated small school:”
(1) In the case of an elementary school comprised of grade 1 through grade 6, shall have an ADMA of 80 or fewer pupils and shall be located at least 10 miles from the nearest elementary school; or
(2) In the case of an elementary school comprised of grade 1 through grade 8, shall have an ADMA of 140 or fewer pupils and shall be located at least 10 miles from the nearest elementary school; or
(3) In the case of a middle or junior high school comprised of grades 6 through 8, shall have an ADMA of 90 or fewer pupils and shall be located at least 10 miles from the nearest middle or junior high school; or
(4) In the case of a high school comprised of grades 9 through 12, shall have an ADMA of 240 or fewer pupils and shall be located at least 20 miles from the nearest high school.
(b) A school may petition the commissioner of the department of education for a waiver of the distance requirement under subparagraphs III(a)(1)-(4) if the school does not comply with the distance requirement but is separated from the nearest comparable school by significant geographical barriers.
(c) In this section, “average daily membership in attendance” and “ADMA” shall have the same meaning as provided in RSA 198:38, I.
2 Fiscal Capacity Disparity Aid. Amend RSA 198:40-c, I to read as follows:
I. In addition to aid for the cost of the opportunity for an adequate education provided under RSA 198:40-b, each biennium the department shall calculate fiscal capacity disparity aid and provide that amount of aid in each year of the biennium to a municipality's school districts and to chartered public schools approved under RSA 194-B:3-a as follows:
(a) The department shall calculate the equalized valuation per pupil for each municipality in the state and shall sort the results into quartiles based on equalized valuation per pupil and shall divide all quartiles in half. If there are an uneven number of municipalities in a quartile or half quartile, the department shall make the lower quartile or half quartile the one with fewer municipalities.
(b) A municipality with an equalized valuation per pupil in the lower half of the lowest quartile and which has a median family income which is less than the state average median family income shall receive fiscal capacity disparity aid in the amount of [$2,000] $1,957 multiplied by the municipality's average daily membership in residence for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, and starting in fiscal year 2012, shall receive fiscal capacity disparity aid in the amount of $1,985 multiplied by the municipality’s average daily membership in residence.
(c) A municipality with an equalized valuation per pupil in the upper half of the lowest quartile which has a median family income which is less than the state average median family income shall receive fiscal capacity disparity aid in the amount of [$1,250] $1,223 multiplied by the municipality's average daily membership in residence [shall be distributed pursuant to RSA 198:42] for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, and starting in fiscal year 2012, shall receive fiscal capacity disparity aid in the amount of $1,241 multiplied by the municipality’s average daily membership in residence..
(d) A chartered public school approved under RSA 194-B:3-a shall receive [$2,000] $1,957 per pupil multiplied by the number of pupils enrolled for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, and starting in fiscal year 2012, shall receive fiscal capacity disparity aid in the amount of $1,985 multiplied by the number of pupils enrolled. The calculation of chartered public school enrollment and aid distribution shall be pursuant to RSA 194-B:11, I(c).
3 Determination of Grants and Excess Tax. Amend RSA 198:41, I(c) to read as follows:
(c) Add the fiscal capacity disparity aid pursuant to RSA 198:40-c and the isolated small schools aid pursuant to RSA 198:40-e.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.
LBAO
09-0696
Amended 03/04/09
HB 689 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT directing aid to isolated small schools.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Education states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2009-0250h), will decrease state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue by $350,624 in FY 2010, $373,715 in FY 2011, $113,107 in FY 2012, and $135,937 in FY 2013. There will be no fiscal impact on state and county revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Education states this bill defines “isolated, small schools” for the purpose of determining eligibility for additional funding. Under this bill, isolated, small schools will receive an additional $450 per pupil, with increases linked to inflation each biennium. A school may petition for a waiver of the isolation distance requirement if the school does not comply with the distance requirement but is separated from the nearest comparable school by significant geographical barriers. This bill also reduces the per pupil amounts for fiscal capacity disparity aid, as well as adds small school aid to the cost of an adequate education and fiscal capacity disparity aid to determine the education grant for each municipality.
The Department states schools meeting the isolated small school criteria include elementary schools in Errol, Monroe, Piermont, Pittsburg, Stewartstown, Stratford, and Waterville Valley, and the high school in Lincoln-Woodstock. These schools had a total average daily membership in attendance (ADM-A) of 578 for the FY 2010 / FY 2011 aid calculation. The Department allocated the entire ADM-A of a qualifying school to the district of attendance and the corresponding town. For the only cooperative school, the Department assigned the ADM-A to the two towns where students reside. The Department states it expects additional schools will ask for, and will qualify for, waivers to the isolation distance requirement; however, the Department cannot estimate the fiscal impact of such waivers. To calculate the fiscal impact of this bill in FY 2012 and FY 2013, the Department assumed ADM-A will be 2% lower, and assumed the Consumer Price Index adjustment to the per pupil amount will be 7.5%, for a per pupil amount of $484.
The Department calculated the decrease in state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue resulting from this bill as follows:
FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013
This Bill
State Property Tax
Retained By Towns $363,165,834 $363,165,834 $348,804,112 $348,804,112
Education Grant – Towns $577,301,601 $577,301,601 $685,700,738 $685,700,738
Fiscal Capacity Disparity
Aid – Charter Schools $2,506,917 $3,557,826 $5,387,290 $8,408,460
Adequate Education Aid –
Charter Schools $4,498,228 $6,358,840 $10,067,404 $16,673,349
TOTAL $947,472,580 $950,384,101 $1,049,959,544 $1,059,586,659
Current Law
State Property Tax
Retained By Towns $363,165,834 $363,165,834 $348,752,424 $348,752,424
Education Grant – Towns $577,597,142 $577,597,142 $685,824,823 $685,824,823
Fiscal Capacity Disparity
Aid – Charter Schools $2,562,000 $3,636,000 $5,428,000 $8,472,000
Adequate Education Aid –
Charter Schools $4,498,228 $6,358,840 $10,067,404 $16,673,349
TOTAL $947,823,204 $950,757,816 $1,050,072,651 $1,059,722,596
CHANGE ($350,624) ($373,715) ($113,107) ($135,937)