SESSION OF 1999 SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 171 As Amended by Senate Committee on Education

Brief⁽¹⁾

S.B. 171 makes the following changes in the school finance law, effective beginning with the 1999-2000 school year.

Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP). BSAPP is increased by $50-from $3,720 to $3,770.

Correlation Weight. Correlation weight is applied to all school districts having enrollments of 1,725 and over. (The weight currently applies to all school districts with enrollments of 1,750 and over.)

At-Risk Weight. The at-risk pupil weight is increased from 8.0 percent to 9.0 percent of BSAPP.

Four-Year-Old At-Risk Pupils--Program Expansion. The number of slots that may be awarded for the competitive program for four-year-old at-risk pupils who may be counted in a school district's enrollment is increased by 444, from 1,350 to 1,794.

Four-Year-Old At-Risk Pupils--Enrollment Adjustment. The definition of "enrollment" for the purpose of determining a school district's general fund budget is modified such that if a district's enrollment in the current year has decreased from the preceding year, the enrollment used is that of the preceding year, less four-year-old at-risk pupils included in the enrollment in that year plus the enrollment of such pupils in the current school year. (This is the same as present law except for the adjustment for four-year-old at-risk pupils.)

Federal Impact Aid Deduction. The general provision for deducting 75.0 percent of a school district's federal impact aid in computing a school district's general state aid entitlement is extended to the Ft. Leavenworth school district (where, currently, 100.0 percent of the federal impact aid is deducted).

Uniform Mill Rate. The duration of the 20 mill (and $20,000 residential exemption) uniform mill rate imposed for support of school district general fund budgets is extended by one year--to the 2000-01 school year.

Background

S.B. 171, as introduced, contains the Governor's recommended school finance formula changes.

The Senate Education Committee amended the bill in two respects:

increased BSAPP by $50 from $3,720 to $3,770 (Governor's recommendation $3,755, an increase of $35 over current law); and

modified the definition of enrollment regarding the counting of four-year-old at-risk pupils in school districts in which the enrollment has decreased from the preceding year.

FY 2000 Estimates

	In Millions
		Senate
	Governor's	Education
Policy Changes	Plan	Committee

BSAPP Increase (Governor-$35, Senate Education Committee-$50)	$20.0	$28.7
Correlation Weight from 1,750 to 1,725	10.3	10.3
At-Risk Weight from 8.0% to 9.0%	4.1	4.1
Four-Year-Old At-Risk Program-444 more	1.0	1.0
Enrollment Adjustment for Four-Year-Old At-Risk Pupils	NA	minimal
TOTAL	$35.4	$44.1

The fiscal note on S.B. 171 reports that the change in the P.L. 874 deduction for Ft. Leavenworth would be expected to cost about $800,000 in FY 2000. However, the Department of Education has indicated that these costs in FY 2000 would be absorbed by an expected increase in the total award of P.L. 874 funds to Ft. Leavenworth in FY 1999 which will be carried forward to FY 2000. The additional FY 1999 funding amount was not known when the November 9, 1998, school finance consensus estimates were made.

The above figures do not include added supplemental general state aid that would be required for local option budgets as a result of the recommended general fund budget increases. This would total about $1.25 million under the Governor's proposal and $1.56 million under the Senate Ways and Means Committee version.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.