Brief ⁽¹⁾

SB 124 creates the 17-member Kansas Council on School District Finance and Quality Performance. The following members serve ex officio or designate someone to represent them: the Governor, chairperson of the State Board of Education; chairperson and ranking minority member of the House Committees on Education, Taxation, and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Education, Assessment and Taxation, and Ways and Means. The remaining three members are representatives of the general public, two appointed by the Governor and one appointed by the State Board of Education. These members serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

The Council organizes annually and elects a chairperson and vice chairperson.

The Council may meet at any time upon the call of the chairperson. Nine members constitute a quorum. Professional staff services are provided to the Council pursuant to Legislative Coordinating Council direction. The State Department of Education staff provide assistance to the Council as authorized by the State Board of Education. Council members receive compensation, subsistence, and mileage for attending meetings.

The responsibilities assigned to the Council are to:

• Monitor implementation and operation of the School District Finance and Quality Performance Act (SDFQPA);
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• Evaluate the SDFQPA and determine if there is a fair and equitable relationship between the costs of weighted components and the assigned weights;
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• Determine if additional school district operations should be weighted;
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• Evaluate the effect of the act on local control;
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• Determine if the act fulfills the obligation of the state to provide a suitable education for Kansas children;
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• Evaluate the reform and restructuring components of the law and assess their impact;
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• Evaluate the system of financial support, reform, and restructuring of public education in Kansas and in other states to ensure that the Kansas system is the most efficient and effective;
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• Review the amount of the Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) and determine if the amount of State Financial Aid (SFA) for school districts is sufficient to provide adequate educational opportunities for Kansas children;
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• Explore alternative funding sources; and
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• Evaluate the state policy regarding qualification of educational programs for categorical state aid and whether entitlement formulas are equitable.

The Committee must make an annual report, including proposed legislation, concerning school finance and restructuring to the Legislature, the Governor, and the State Board of Education.

Provisions of SB 124 expire on June 30, 2006.

Background

SB 124 contains a recommendation of the Governor's Vision 21^st Century Initiative Task Force on K-12 Education: Financing for Results.

The fiscal note establishes a range for the cost of the meetings of the Kansas Council on School District Finance and Quality Performance of from $24,000 to $57,816 in FY 2002.

The Kansas National Education Association expressed general support for the concepts contained in the bill.

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/fulltext.cgi