HCS SS SB 943 -- ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION FUNDING AND
PLANNING PROCESSES

SPONSOR:  Shields (Wallace)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Elementary
and Secondary Education by a vote of 10 to 2.

This substitute changes the laws regarding school funding and
planning processes.  In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Removes the requirement that a school calendar have a
minimum of 174 days but retains the required 1,044 hours of
actual pupil attendance until, beginning in school year 2012-
2013, the required hours are increased to 1,073 hours (Sections
160.011, 160.041, 163.021, 171.029, 171.031, and 171.033, RSMo);

(2)  Removes the requirement that a school's A+ Schools Program
coordinator be at least a half-time position and specifies that
no minimum percentage of time will be required for the A+
coordination (Section 160.545);

(3)  Specifies that in fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013 the
department cannot penalize a school district on its accreditation
review for failing to achieve resource standards if the school
funding formula or transportation categorical is underfunded as
specified.  The district also cannot be penalized in the
following fiscal year if the Governor withholds funds (Section
161.209);

(4)  Extends the phase-in of the school funding formula enacted
by Senate Bill 287 in 2005 from completion in the 2012-2013
school year to the 2014-2015 school year and changes the payment
percentages that are based on the new and old formulas by
extending the 58/42 ratio for two more years (Sections
163.031.4(5) - 163.031.4(8));

(5)  Allows the General Assembly to appropriate more funds than
required by the phase-in percentages for any particular school
year and requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education to adjust the phase-in percentages to accommodate the
total amount of available appropriations in order to distribute
100% of the total amount of appropriated funds (Section 163.031.4
(9));

(6)  Requires the department to reduce the payment amounts
awarded to all school districts, including hold harmless
districts, if the school funding formula appropriation is equal
to or less than the state aid expenditure for Fiscal Year 2010,
if the formula appropriation is less than the previous fiscal
year's expenditure, or if the Governor withholds current year
appropriations with the effect of reducing the appropriation to
or below these levels (Section 163.031.4(10));

(7)  Requires the department to calculate a uniform proportional
reduction percentage based on all available school funding
formula state aid to be applied to the payment amount to which
all districts would otherwise be entitled under the applicable
phase-in percentages if in the previous year a proportional
reduction was required and the current year appropriation is more
than the 2010 expenditure and the previous year's expenditure but
is not enough to meet the previous year's phase-in percentages
(Section 163.031.4(11));

(8)  Repeals the provisions regarding the penalty imposed on a
school district experiencing a decrease in summer school average
daily attendance which terminated at the end of the 2008-2009
school year and repeals a section that requires additional weight
to be given to summer school attendance if it falls below a
specified level statewide (Sections 163.031.4(12) and 163.037);

(9)  Limits state reimbursement for summer school average daily
attendance in years in which the funding formula is not funded to
the specified percentages during the phase-in to include only
attendance hours of students based exclusively on academic areas
of study.  Each school district must verify to the department
that its summer school program conforms to these requirements.  A
school district may offer a nonacademic or enrichment summer
school program at its own or the parents' expense.  The summer
school average daily attendance reimbursement is limited to 3% of
the previous regular terms weighted average daily attendance for
districts with a free and reduced lunch count of less than 60%
and 7% for a free and reduced lunch count of 60% or more (Section
163.036);

(10)  Revises the small school grant provisions to exclude summer
school attendance from the average daily attendance count of 350
or fewer students; requires the appropriation of an additional $5
million to be distributed to districts based on their average
daily attendance for the regular school year upon the earlier of
the completion of the school funding formula phase-in or the
fiscal year after the first fiscal year in which the formula is
fully funded; and extends a proportionally decreasing payment to
districts that have 351 to 449 average daily attendance (Section
163.044);

(11)  Specifies that in fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013 the
requirement for school districts to dedicate 1% of their formula
funding to professional development and the 75% funding and fund
placement requirements for teacher salaries will be suspended and
10% flexibility will be granted to use categorical funds as long
as federal funds are not affected if the school funding formula
or transportation categorical is underfunded as specified or will
be suspended in the following fiscal year if the Governor
withholds funds (Section 163.410);

(12)  Requires the Joint Committee on Education to complete a
study during the 2010 legislative interim on the timing of the
delivery of school funding for elementary and secondary education
to school districts (Section 163.500);

(13)  Allows, during fiscal years 2011 through 2013, a school
district to transfer any unobligated capital projects funds to
its incidental fund once each fiscal year under certain specified
conditions (Section 165.011);

(14)   Allows the special administrative board when it has been
granted governing powers for a district in the City of St. Louis
School District to appoint a hearing officer to conduct a
contested case of a teacher's dismissal (Section 168.221);

(15)  Removes the requirement but allows the General Assembly to
make an annual appropriation to the Missouri Career Development
and Teacher Excellence Plan, commonly known as the Career Ladder
Program.  Beginning in Fiscal Year 2012, the state portion of
career ladder payments will only be made available to school
districts if an appropriation is made.  Any state appropriation
must be made prospectively in relation to the year in which work
under the program is performed.  A school district may fund the
program for its teachers for work performed in years for which no
state appropriation is made available.  The variable match
formula of the program is removed, and the payment must be on a
matching basis with 60% local funding and 40% state funding
(Sections 168.500 and 168.515); and

(16)  Removes the provision which specifies that no fees can be
charged for Parents as Teachers services, clarifies that families
with children younger than the kindergarten entry age will be
eligible to receive specified services, requires priority to be
given to high-needs families according to department criteria,
and allows school districts to establish cost-sharing strategies
for these services (Section 178.697).

The provisions of the substitute regarding the Parents as
Teachers Program will expire December 31, 2015.

The substitute contains an emergency clause for the provisions
regarding the school funding formula, summer school, small school
grants, and the appointment of a hearing officer for City of St.
Louis teacher actions and will become effective July 1, 2010, or
upon passage and approval, whichever is later.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Income on General Revenue Fund of
$93,536,062 to Unknown in FY 2011, $194,856,288 to Unknown in FY
2012, and $202,742,484 to Unknown in FY 2013.  Estimated Effect
on Other State Funds of an income of Unknown to a cost of Unknown
in FY 2011, FY 2012, and FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that a logical rationale for how to
handle shortfalls is necessary because there is no statute
covering the issue during the formula phase-in.  Since the
overall rationale of the formula has been approved by the courts,
it would be best to stay conceptually close to the original idea.

Testifying for the bill was Senator Shields.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the General
Assembly needs to consider revenue enhancements as well as
formula changes.  Care should be exercised in crafting a summer
school solution so that high-poverty districts are not
disproportionately affected.

Testifying against the bill were Missouri National Education
Association; Jason Dial, Independence School District 30; and
John Jungmann, Monett R-I School District.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that the summer school
restriction is best expressed as simply as possible with weighted
average daily attendance.  As to a base line for future
appropriations, it is possible to foresee a situation in which an
appropriation is higher than the baseline but still not enough
for full funding, with the result that less wealthy hold harmless
districts could have money withheld while formula districts get
additional money.

Testifying on the bill were Missouri Association of School
Administrators; Missouri State Teachers Association; Don
Thalhuber; Paul Wagner; and Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:15 pm