Legislature(1995 - 1996)
1996-04-16 Senate Journal
Full Journal pdf1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3316 SB 244 CS SENATE BILL NO. 244(FIN) am "An Act relating to school construction grants; relating to state foundation aid and supplementary state aid for education; and providing for an effective date" which had been held on reconsideration (page 3246) was before the Senate. Senator Salo moved and asked unanimous consent that the Senate return to second reading for the purpose of rescinding its previous action in failing to adopt Amendment No. 1 (page 3211). Senator Frank objected. The question being: Shall the Senate return to second reading for the purpose of rescinding its previous action? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Return to Second to Rescind Previous Action YEAS: 16 NAYS: 4 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Adams, Donley, Duncan, Ellis, Green, Halford, Hoffman, Kelly, Lincoln, Miller, Pearce, R.Phillips, Rieger, Salo, Torgerson, Zharoff Nays: Frank, Leman, Sharp, Taylor and so, the bill was returned to second reading. Senator Salo moved that the Senate rescind its previous action in failing to adopt Amendment No. 1. Objections were heard. 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3317 SB 244 The question being: Shall the Senate rescind its previous action in failing to adopt Amendment No. 1? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Rescind Previous Action YEAS: 14 NAYS: 6 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Adams, Donley, Duncan, Ellis, Green, Halford, Hoffman, Kelly, Lincoln, Pearce, R.Phillips, Rieger, Salo, Zharoff Nays: Frank, Leman, Miller, Sharp, Taylor, Torgerson Green changed from "Nay" to "Yea". Pearce changed from "Nay" to "Yea". and so, the Senate rescinded its previous action. The question being: Shall Amendment No. 1 be adopted? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Second Reading Amendment No. 1 YEAS: 13 NAYS: 7 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Adams, Donley, Duncan, Ellis, Green, Halford, Kelly, Lincoln, R.Phillips, Rieger, Salo, Torgerson, Zharoff Nays: Frank, Hoffman, Leman, Miller, Pearce, Sharp, Taylor and so, Amendment No. 1 was adopted. CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 244(FIN) am was automatically in third reading. Senator Phillips moved that the bill be returned to second reading for the purpose of a specific amendment, that being Amendment No. 6. Without objection, the bill was returned to second reading. 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3318 SB 244 Senator Phillips offered Amendment No. 6 : Page 1, line 1, through page 2, line 25: Delete all material and insert: ""An Act relating to transportation of public school students; relating to school construction grants; relating to the public school foundation program and to local aid for education; and providing for an effective date." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: * Section 1. AS14.09.010(b) is amended to read: (b) Each school district mentioned in (a)(1) of this section is entitled to receive reimbursement from the state for the operation of the transportation system on a unit cost basis determined by the department. In determining a school district's amount of eligible transportation reimbursement under this subsection, the department shall provide the same level of reimbursement for transportation provided on a motor vehicle owned by the school district as for transportation provided on a motor vehicle operated under a contract with the school district. * Sec. 2. AS14.11.013(a) is amended to read: (a) With regard to projects for which grants are requested under AS14.11.011, the department shall (1) annually review the six-year plans submitted by each district under AS14.11.011(b) and recommend to the board a revised and updated six-year capital improvement project grant schedule that serves the best interests of the state and each district; in recommending projects for this schedule, the department shall verify that each proposed project meets the criteria established under AS14.11.014(b) and qualifies as a project required to (A) avert imminent danger or correct life- threatening situations; (B) house students who would otherwise be unhoused; for purposes of this subparagraph, students are considered unhoused if the students attend school in temporary relocatable facilities; (C) protect the structure of existing school facilities; 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3319 SB 244 (D) correct building code deficiencies that require major repair or rehabilitation in order for the facility to continue to be used for the educational program; (E) achieve an operating cost savings; (F) modify or rehabilitate facilities for the purpose of improving the instructional program; (G) meet an educational need not specified in (A) - (F) of this paragraph, identified by the department; (2) prepare an estimate of the amount of money needed to finance each project; (3) provide to the governor, by November 1, and to the legislature within the first 10 days of each regular legislative session, a revised and updated six-year capital improvement project grant schedule, together with a proposed schedule of appropriations. * Sec. 3. AS14.17.010(a) is amended to read: (a) The public school foundation account is established. The account consists of municipal contributions made under AS14.17.025(i) and appropriations for distribution to school districts, the state boarding school, and for centralized correspondence study programs under this chapter. * Sec. 4. AS14.17.021(a) is amended to read: (a) The amount of state foundation aid for which a school district may qualify in a fiscal year is calculated by subtracting from the basic need defined in (b) of this section the required local contributions under AS14.17.025(a) and 100 ª90ß percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year. In a rural educational attendance area, the reduction of eligible federal impact aid is in lieu of a contribution of funds from local taxes. The department may make adjustments to a district's state foundation aid for a fiscal year to correct underpayments made in previous fiscal years. * Sec. 5. AS14.17.025(a) is amended to read: (a) Local contributions to a city or borough school district (1) shall be ªINCLUDE AT LEAST THE LESSER OF (1)ß the equivalent of a 4.5 ªFOURß mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under AS14.17.140 and AS29.45.110; or 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3320 SB 244 (2) if the amount determined under (1) of this subsection is greater than the district's basic need for the current fiscal year as determined under AS14.17.021(b), shall be ª35 PERCENT OFß the district's basic need for the current ªPRECEDINGß fiscal year, asdetermined under AS14.17.021(b). * Sec. 6. AS14.17.025 is amended by adding new subsections to read: (i) A city or borough school district that is required to make a local contribution under (a)(2) of this section shall also pay into the public school foundation account an amount determined by subtracting the amount under (a)(2) of this section from the amount under (a)(1) of this section in that district. (j) In addition to the amount contributed under (a) of this section, a city or borough school district shall make a local contribution that is equal to the amount determined under AS14.17.065(a)(1)(B). * Sec. 7. AS14.17.031(a) is amended to read: (a) The department shall adopt regulations defining funding communities within each district that reflect geographic and attendance area factors, and that include at least 10 students in average daily membership. For the purpose of determining instructional units, students are counted in the district and the funding community from which they receive educational services. The total number of instructional units in a school district is the sum of the following units for each funding community within the district, as determined by the department: (1) the number of units for elementary and secondary students determined under AS14.17.041(a) or (b); (2) the number of units for vocational education determined under AS14.17.043; (3) the number of units for special education determined under AS14.17.045; ªANDß (4) the number of units for bilingual education determined under AS14.17.047; and (5) the number of units for gifted and talented education determined under AS14.17.048. * Sec. 8. AS14.17.031(b) is amended to read: 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3321 SB 244 (b) If the total elementary and secondary instructional units that a school district is eligible to receive under (a) of this section decrease by five ª10ß percent or more from one fiscal year to the next, the school district may use the last fiscal year before the reduction as a base fiscal year and offset its reduction according to the following schedule: (1) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 75 percent of the difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal year and the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (2) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 50 percent of the difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (3) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 25 percent of the difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year. The schedule established in this subsection is available to a school district for the three fiscal years following the base fiscal year only if the total elementary and secondary instructional units received by the school district under (a)(1) of this section for each fiscal year are less than the total elementary and secondary instructional units received by the school district in the base fiscal year. This subsection does not apply to a decrease in total elementary and secondary instructional units resulting from a loss of enrollment that occurs as a result of a boundary change under AS29. * Sec. 9. AS14.17.041(a) is amended to read: (a) For funding communities that have an average daily membership of less than 200 in grades K-6 or less than 200 in grades 7-12, combined elementary and secondary instructional units are determined under the following table: 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3322 SB 244 ADM No. Instructional Units ª1 - 10 2ß 10 ª11ß - 20 2 + ((ADM-10)/5) 21 - 60 4 + ((ADM-20)/8) 61 - 120 9 + ((ADM-60)/12) 121 - 525 14 + ((ADM-120)/15). * Sec. 10. AS14.17.041 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (e) A district with an ADM of 900 or less that consists of one funding community shall increase the elementary and secondary instructional units received under (a) or (b) of this section by multiplying the instructional units by a factor determined under the following table: District ADMFactor 1- 250 1.12 251- 525 1.08 526- 900 1.06. * Sec. 11. AS14.17.045(a) is amended to read: (a) An exceptional child, other than a gifted child, as both are defined in AS14.30.350, who is enrolled in a special education program, approved by the department, on the last day of the counting period for which a determination is being made, generates [0.025 INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS IF THE CHILD RECEIVES GIFTED SERVICES,ß 0.056 instructional units if the child receives resource services, 0.1 instructional units if the child receives self- contained services, or 0.333 instructional units if the child receives intensive or hospital/homebound services, as those categories of service are defined by the department by regulation, in the funding community in which the child is served. A child may be counted in one special education category only. * Sec. 12. AS14.17.045(b) is amended to read: (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, in a district that offers a special education program for exceptional children other than gifted children, as both are defined in AS14.30.350, each funding community receives a minimum of 0.25 instructional units for special education for each funding community in which such a child is served or the district receives a minimum of 1.00 instructional units for special education, whichever is greater. * Sec. 13. AS14.17.047 is amended to read: 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3323 SB 244 Sec. 14.17.047. BILINGUAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS. A student for whom an appropriate bilingual program must be provided under regulations adopted by the department, and who is enrolled in a bilingual program, approved by the department, as of the last day of the counting period for which a determination is being made, generates, in the funding community in which the student is served, 0.021 instructional units ªTHE NUMBER OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS THAT IS THE PRODUCT OBTAINED BY MULTIPLYING 0.042 BY THE STUDENTS LANGUAGE DOMINANCE CATEGORY WEIGHT UNDER DEPARTMENT REGULATIONSß. A funding community in which a bilingual program approved by the department is operated receives a minimum of 0.10 instructional units for bilingual education, or a district in which a bilingual program is operated receives a minimum of 1.00 instructional units, whichever is greater. * Sec. 14. AS14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: Sec. 14.17.048. GIFTED AND TALENTED INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS. Gifted and talented instructional units for a funding community in a district are calculated by (1) multiplying by .045 the elementary and secondary student enrollment in the funding community on the last day of the student counting period under AS14.17.160; and (2) multiplying the product obtained under (1) of this section by a supplemental revenue weighting factor specified in regulations adopted by the department. * Sec. 15. AS14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: Sec. 14.17.065. SUPPLEMENTAL EQUALIZATION AID. (a) In addition to state foundation aid for which a district may qualify under AS14.17.021, a school district is eligible to receive supplemental equalization funds as follows: (1) in a city or borough school district, supplemental equalization aid is equal to a (A) state share under the following formula: funding = Vs/(Vs + Vi) x Vs x 2.5 mills x District ADM; (B) local share under the following formula: funding = Vs x 2.5 mills x District ADM - the amount determined under (A) of this paragraph; 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3324 SB 244 (2) in a regional educational attendance area, supplemental equalization aid is equal to the amount determined under the formula provided under (1)(A) of this subsection in that regional educational attendance area. (b) In this section, (1) "Vi" means the amount determined by dividing the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as calculated under AS14.17.140 and AS29.45.110 by the District ADM for the same fiscal year for which the valuation of real and personal property was made; (2) "Vs" means the amount determined by dividing the sum of the property valuations of all districts in the state by the total ADM of all districts in the state. * Sec. 16. AS14.17.080 is amended to read: Sec. 14.17.080. STUDENT COUNT ESTIMATES. Each district shall prepare and submit to the department, by November20 [OCTOBER15ß of each fiscal year, in the manner and on forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its average daily membership and other student count data for the succeeding fiscal year, upon which computations can be made of the amount of estimated state foundation aid for which the district will be eligible under AS14.17.021 in that fiscal year. In making this estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, the district shall consider its average daily membership in the current fiscal year, other student count data, the pattern of growth or decline in preceding years, and other pertinent information available to the district. The preliminary reports required by this section are the basis for estimating the need for state foundation aid for the next fiscal year. * Sec. 17. AS14.17.160(b) is amended to read: (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period from the same school year other than the periods set out in (a) of this section. However, the counting period must be 20 consecutive school days. * Sec. 18. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education may immediately proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement this Act. The regulations take effect under the Administrative Procedure Act, but not before July1, 1996. * Sec. 19. Section 18 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS01.10.070(c). 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3325 SB 244 * Sec. 20. Except as provided in sec. 19 of this Act, this Act takes effect July1, 1996." Senator Phillips moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 6. Senator Adams objected. The question being: Shall Amendment No. 6 be adopted? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Second Reading Amendment No. 6 YEAS: 10 NAYS: 10 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Donley, Green, Halford, Kelly, Leman, R.Phillips, Rieger, Sharp, Taylor, Torgerson Nays: Adams, Duncan, Ellis, Frank, Hoffman, Lincoln, Miller, Pearce, Salo, Zharoff and so, Amendment No. 6 failed. CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 244(FIN) am was automatically in third reading. Senator Halford moved that the bill be returned to second reading for the purpose of a specific amendment, that being Amendment No. 7. Without objection, the bill was returned to second reading. Senator Halford offered Amendment No. 7 : Add new section 4: Notwithstanding any other provision of law AS 14.17 shall not be applied for funding public education after June 30, 1997. Renumber remaining sections. Senator Halford moved for the adoption of Amendment No. 7. Senator Duncan objected. 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3326 SB 244 The question being: Shall Amendment No. 7 be adopted? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Second Reading Amendment No. 7 YEAS: 12 NAYS: 8 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Donley, Green, Halford, Kelly, Leman, Miller, Pearce, R.Phillips, Rieger, Sharp, Taylor, Torgerson Nays: Adams, Duncan, Ellis, Frank, Hoffman, Lincoln, Salo, Zharoff and so, Amendment No. 7 was adopted. CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 244(FIN) am was automatically in third reading. The question to be reconsidered: Shall CS SENATE BILL NO. 244(FIN) am "An Act relating to transportation of public school students; relating to school construction grants; relating to state foundation aid and supplementary state aid for education; and providing for an effective date" pass the Senate? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Third Reading - On Reconsideration YEAS: 12 NAYS: 8 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Adams, Donley, Duncan, Ellis, Frank, Halford, Hoffman, Lincoln, Miller, Pearce, Salo, Zharoff Nays: Green, Kelly, Leman, R.Phillips, Rieger, Sharp, Taylor, Torgerson and so, CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 244(FIN) am passed the Senate on reconsideration. Senator Halford moved the effective date clause. 1996-04-16 Senate Journal Page 3327 SB 244 The question being: Shall the effective date clause be adopted? The roll was taken with the following result: CSSB 244(FIN) am Effective Date Vote YEAS: 18 NAYS: 2 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Adams, Donley, Duncan, Ellis, Frank, Green, Halford, Hoffman, Leman, Lincoln, Miller, Pearce, R.Phillips, Rieger, Salo, Sharp, Torgerson, Zharoff Nays: Kelly, Taylor and so, the effective date clause was adopted and the bill was referred to the Secretary for engrossment.