HB 337-FN-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
17Mar2011… 0593h
17Mar2011… 0846h
05/25/11 2023s
2011 SESSION
04/09
HOUSE BILL 337-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT amending the calculation and distribution of adequate education grants, repealing fiscal capacity disparity aid, and providing stabilization grants to certain municipalities.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hess, Merr 9; Rep. Flanagan, Hills 5; Rep. Ladd, Graf 5; Rep. Kurk, Hills 7; Rep. Bettencourt, Rock 4; Rep. Jasper, Hills 27
COMMITTEE: Special Committee on Education Funding Reform
This bill:
I. Sets the amount of differentiated aid at $1,725 for each pupil eligible for the free or reduced-price meal program.
II. Repeals the calculation and distribution of fiscal capacity disparity aid.
III. Provides a grant in the amount of $2,000 for chartered public school pupils.
IV. Provides $675 for each third grade pupil who has not tested at the proficient level or above in the reading component of the state assessment and who is not eligible to receive special education, English as a second language, or free or reduced-price meal program funds.
V. Beginning July 1, 2013, provides that a municipality’s total education grant shall not exceed 105.5 percent of the total education grant received in the previous fiscal year.
VI. Provides a stabilization grant to certain municipalities in fiscal year 2012 equal to the decrease from the municipality’s fiscal year 2011 total education grant, and provides that a municipality shall continue to receive this stabilization grant in fiscal year 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter.
VII. Repeals the statutory provisions requiring that excess education tax payments be remitted to the department of revenue administration thereby permitting municipalities to retain any excess education tax revenues.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17Mar2011… 0593h
17Mar2011… 0846h
05/25/11 2023s
11-0053
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT amending the calculation and distribution of adequate education grants, repealing fiscal capacity disparity aid, and providing stabilization grants to certain municipalities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Chartered Public Schools; Funding. Amend RSA 194-B:11, I(b) to read as follows:
(b) For any chartered public school authorized by the state board of education pursuant to RSA 194-B:3-a, the state shall pay tuition pursuant to RSA 198:40-a [and RSA 198:40-c] plus an additional grant of $2,000 directly to the chartered public school for each pupil who is a resident of this state in attendance at such chartered public school.
2 School Money; Cost of an Opportunity for an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 198:40-a to read as follows:
198:40-a Cost of an Opportunity for an Adequate Education.
I. Beginning July 1, 2009, and for every biennium thereafter, the annual cost of providing the opportunity for an adequate education as defined in RSA 193-E:2-a shall be $3,450 per pupil attending a public school, plus any applicable differentiated aid for which a pupil is eligible. Differentiated aid shall be [calculated as follows:
(a) An additional $431 per pupil in kindergarten through grade 12 eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program who attends a public school in which less than 12 percent of the pupils reported in the school’s ADMA in the determination year are eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program.
(b) An additional $863 per pupil in a public school in which at least 12 percent but less than 24 percent of pupils reported in the school’s ADMA in the determination year, are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meal program.
(c) An additional $1,725 per pupil in a public school in which at least 24 percent but less than 36 percent of pupils reported in the school’s ADMA in the determination year, are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meal program.
(d) An additional $2,588 per pupil in a public school in which at least 36 percent but less than 48 percent of the pupils reported in the school’s ADMA in the determination year, are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meal program.
(e) An additional $3,450 per pupil in a public school in which 48 percent or more of the pupils reported in the school’s ADMA in the determination year, are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meal program] in the amount of $1,725 for each pupil in the public school’s ADMA in the determination year who is in kindergarten through grade 12 and who is eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program.
II. In addition to the amount in paragraph I, an additional $675 for each pupil reported in the public school’s ADMA in the determination year who is an English language learner and who is receiving English language instruction.
II-a. An additional $675 for each third grade pupil in the public school’s ADMA in the determination year who has not tested at the proficient level or above in the reading component of the state assessment and who is not eligible to receive special education, English as a second language, or free or reduced-price meal program funds in the determination year.
III. In addition to the amounts in paragraphs I [and], II, and II-a, an additional $1,856 for each pupil reported in the public school’s ADMA in the determination year who is receiving special education.
IV.(a) The sum total calculated under paragraphs I-III of this section shall be used to determine the cost of an adequate education which shall be used in each year of the biennium.
(b) The department shall allocate the cost of an adequate education for each municipality by totaling the cost of an adequate education as determined in RSA 198:40-a, I-III for all children who reside in that municipality.
(c) Prior to or coinciding with the first disbursement of each fiscal year under RSA 198:42, the department shall notify a school district of the cost of an adequate education for the pupils in each school within its jurisdiction sorted by the pupil’s municipality of residence. In addition, the department shall furnish to each school district a report showing the cost of an adequate education for pupils who are residents of that school district sorted by a pupil’s school of attendance.
V. The department shall notify school districts of the estimated amounts of grants by the November 15 preceding the fiscal year for which aid is determined. The commissioner shall provide to the general court all data or reports requested by the general court in a form which the general court determines will facilitate the calculations required in this section.
3 School Money; Determination of Grants. Amend RSA 198:41 to read as follows:
198:41 Determination of Education Grants [and Excess Tax].
I. Except for municipalities where all school districts therein provide education to all of their pupils by paying tuition to other institutions, the department of education shall determine the [amount of the] total education grant for the municipality as follows:
(a) Add the per pupil cost of providing the opportunity for an adequate education for which each pupil is eligible pursuant to RSA 198:40-a, I-III, and from such amount;
(b) Subtract the amount of the education [property] tax warrant to be issued by the commissioner of revenue administration for such municipality reported pursuant to RSA 76:9 for the next tax year[, and from such amount; and
(c) Add the fiscal capacity disparity aid pursuant to RSA 198:40-c].
II. For municipalities where all school districts therein provide education to all of their pupils by paying tuition to other institutions, the department of education shall determine the [amount of the adequate] total education grant for each municipality as the lesser of the 2 following calculations:
(a) The amount calculated in accordance with paragraph I of this section; or
(b) The total amount paid for items of current education expense as determined by the department of education minus the amount of the education [property] tax warrant to be issued by the commissioner of revenue administration for such municipality reported pursuant to RSA 76:9 for the next tax year.
III.(a) For the [fiscal years beginning July 1, 2009 and July 1, 2010] biennium ending June 30, 2013, the department of education shall not[:
(a)] distribute a total education grant on behalf of all pupils who reside in a municipality that exceeds that municipality’s total education grant [for the 2009 fiscal year] in the second year of the previous biennium [by more than 15 percent; or
(b) Reduce the total state aid for an adequate education provided on behalf of all pupils who reside in a municipality to an amount less than that municipality’s total state aid for an adequate education received in the 2009 fiscal year]
(b) Beginning July 1, 2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, the department of education shall not distribute a total education grant on behalf of all pupils who reside in a municipality that exceeds 105.5 percent of the total education grant distributed to such municipality in the previous fiscal year.
IV.(a) For fiscal year 2012, the department of education shall identify all municipalities in which the fiscal year 2012 total education grant will be less than the fiscal year 2011 total education grant. The department shall distribute a stabilization grant to each of those municipalities equal to 100 percent of the decrease.
(b) For fiscal year 2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, the department of education shall distribute a total education grant to each municipality in an amount equal to the total education grant for the fiscal year in which the grant is calculated plus the amount of the fiscal year 2012 stabilization grant, if any, distributed to the municipality.
4 New Section; School Money; Severability. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 43 the following new section:
198:43-a Severability. If any provision of RSA 198:38 through RSA 198:43 or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of RSA 198:38 through RSA 198:43 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, such provisions are declared to be severable.
5 Excess Education Property Tax Payment; Subdivision Heading Amended. Amend the subdivision heading preceding RSA 198:46 to read as follows:
[Excess Education Property Tax Payment]
Local Control and Alternative Kindergarten Programs
6 Application of Receipts. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b)(65) to read as follows:
(65) Money received under RSA 77-A, RSA 77-E, RSA 78, RSA 78-A, RSA 78-B, RSA 83-F, [RSA 198:46,] and from the sweepstakes fund, which shall be credited to the education trust fund under RSA 198:39.
7 Commissioner’s Warrant. Amend RSA 76:8, II to read as follows:
II. The commissioner shall issue a warrant under the commissioner’s hand and official seal for the amount computed in paragraph I to the selectmen or assessors of each municipality by December 15 directing them to assess such sum and pay it to the municipality for the use of the school district or districts [and, if there is an excess education tax payment due pursuant to RSA 198:46, directing them to assess the amount of the excess payment and pay it to the department of revenue administration for deposit in the education trust fund]. Such sums shall be assessed at such times as may be prescribed for other taxes assessed by such selectmen or assessors of the municipality.
8 School Money; Consumer Price Index Adjustment. Amend RSA 198:40-d to read as follows:
198:40-d Consumer Price Index Adjustment. Beginning July 1, [2011] 2013 and every biennium thereafter, the department of education shall adjust the sum of the amounts determined under RSA 198:40-a 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.
9 Repeal. The following are hereby repealed:
I. RSA 198:40-c, relative to fiscal capacity disparity aid.
II. RSA 198:46, relative to excess education tax payments.
III. RSA 198:47, relative to forms used for the reporting and remitting of excess education tax payments.
IV. RSA 198:39, I(g), relative to excess education tax payments deposited into the education trust fund.
10 Effective Date.
I. Section 8 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2011 at 12:01 a.m.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
LBAO
11-0053
Amended 06/10/11
HB 337 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT amending the calculation and distribution of adequate education grants, repealing fiscal capacity disparity aid, and providing stabilization grants to certain municipalities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
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The Department of Education states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2011-2023s), will decrease state education trust fund revenue and increase local revenue by $16,977,637 in FY 2012 and 2013, and by an indeterminable amount in FY 2014 and FY 2015. This bill would decrease state education trust fund expenditures and decrease local revenue by $86,599,278 in FY 2012 and FY 2013, and by an indeterminable amount in FY 2014 and FY 2015. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures, or county revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
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The Department of Education states this bill makes changes to the determination of the per pupil cost of the opportunity of an adequate education. The bill sets the amount of differentiated aid at $1,725 for each pupil eligible for the free or reduced-price meal program; repeals the calculation and distribution of fiscal disparity aid; provides a grant in the amount of $2,000 for chartered public school pupils; provides $675 for each third grade pupil who has not tested at the proficient level or above in the reading component of the state assessment, and is not eligible to receive special education, English as a second language, or free or reduced-price meal program funds. Beginning July 1, 2013, this bill provides that a municipality’s total education grant shall not exceed 105.5% of the total education grant received in the previous fiscal year. The bill also provides a stabilization grant to certain municipalities in FY 2012 equal to the decrease from the municipality’s FY 2011 total education grant, and provides that a municipality shall continue to receive this stabilization grant in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. Finally, this bill repeals the statutory provisions requiring that excess education tax payments be remitted to the Department of Revenue Administration thereby permitting municipalities to retain any excess education tax revenue. The Department assumes Average Daily Membership (ADM) is calculated based upon the student level End of Year (EOY) submissions provided by each school; Free and Reduced Lunch (F&R) status is determined based upon the F&R collection, Fall 2008. All students receiving Free Milk, Reduced Meal or Free Meals are included. Students reported as F&R and in a school on October 1st are included; ADM for F&R include all ADM for identified students as student moves from school to school; and No consumer price index (CPI) adjustments are assumed. The Department’s estimates do not include any impact on charter schools.
For the purposes of this fiscal note, the Department assumes per pupil aid amounts as follows –
Base Adequacy $3,450
Free and Reduced Lunch (F&R) $1,725
Special Education (SPED) $1,856
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) $675
3rd Grade Students not Proficient $675
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FY 2012
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Current Law Proposed Bill Difference
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In total, the Department estimates the FY 2012 calculated cost of an adequate education as follows –
Base Adequacy $659,030,213
F&R Differentiated Aid $67,524,551
SPED Differentiated Aid $56,598,902
LEP Differentiated Aid $2,119,921
3rd Grade Differentiated Aid $696,271
Total Calculated Cost of an Adequate Education $785,969,858
The bill makes no changes the State-Wide Education Property Tax (SWEPT) provisions, and the Department estimates the amount of SWEPT raised will total $363,121,283 in FY 2012. To determine a municipality’s education grant amount, the Department deducts the estimated SWEPT payment from the total calculated cost of an adequate education. In the event that a municipality’s estimated SWEPT payment is greater than the total calculated cost of an adequate education, they could retain the excess funds locally. The estimated SWEPT revenue is broken down as follows –
SWEPT Revenue (Local and State Revenue)
SWEPT retained by towns $346,143,646 $340,026,203 $(6,117,443)
Excess SWEPT retained locally $0 $23,095,080 $23,095,080
Excess SWEPT Sent to ETF $16,977,637 $0 $(16,977,637)
Total SWEPT Revenue $363,121,283 $363,121,283 $0
After determining the amount of the excess SWEPT, the Department calculated total education grants as follows –
Total Cost of an Adequate Education $785,969,858
Minus SWEPT (not including excess SWEPT retained locally) $(340,026,203)
Total Education Grants $445,943,655
The bill also provides that municipalities receive a stabilization grant in FY 2012 equal to the decrease from the municipality’s FY 2011 total education grant, and provides that a municipality shall continue to receive this stabilization grant in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. Historically, the Department has interpreted the funding law such that a district whose calculated aid was lower than their SWEPT contribution, would not receive a grant. Procedures that ensured grants maintained a prior level of funding were not increased to that level if the town’s SWEPT was higher than the adequacy funding determination. For the purposes of this fiscal note, and based on the Department’s understanding of the intent of the proposal, the Department assumes grants will be given even when the SWEPT amount is greater than the adequacy funding determination. As a result, the Department estimates the total cost of the stabilization grants at $153,109,642. In addition, this bill states for the biennium ending June 30, 2013 no municipality shall receive a total education grant that exceeds that municipality’s total education grant in the second year of the previous biennium. This provision will reduce total education grant costs by $20,816,692. The Department estimates the total education grant amount proposed under this bill at $578,236,605 ($445,943,655 + $153,109,642 - $20,816,692) in FY 2012. The Department estimates the fiscal impact on state expenditures and local revenue as follows -
Total Education Aid (State Expenditures and Local Revenue)
Net SWEPT retained by Town $346,143,646 $363,121,283 $16,977,637
Total Education Grants $664,835,883 $578,236,605 $(86,599,278)
Total Education Aid $1,010,979,530 $941,357,888 $(69,621,641)
The Department assumes the FY 2012 figures will remain constant for FY 2013. Beginning on July 1, 2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, a municipality’s total education grant cannot exceed 105.5% of the total education grant distributed to that municipality in the previous fiscal year. The Department assumes the amount of the stabilization grant in FY 2014 and 2015 will remain constant, and the 5.5% will only apply to the education aid portion of the grant. The exact fiscal impact for FY 2014 and beyond cannot be determined at this time.
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