HF 1977

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; eliminating the $100 referendum 
  1.3             subtraction requirement for certain school districts; 
  1.4             authorizing a discretionary levy for technology 
  1.5             improvements for school districts with low revenues; 
  1.6             providing additional state aid for school districts 
  1.7             with low revenues; appropriating money; amending 
  1.8             Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 124.95, subdivision 
  1.9             1; and 124A.03, subdivision 3c; proposing coding for 
  1.10            new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124C. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124.95, 
  1.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For purposes of this 
  1.15  section, the eligible debt service revenue of a district is 
  1.16  defined as follows: 
  1.17     (1) the amount needed to produce between five and six 
  1.18  percent in excess of the amount needed to meet when due the 
  1.19  principal and interest payments on the obligations of the 
  1.20  district for eligible projects according to subdivision 2, 
  1.21  including the amounts necessary for repayment of energy loans 
  1.22  according to section 216C.37 or sections 298.292 to 298.298, 
  1.23  debt service loans and capital loans, lease purchase payments 
  1.24  under section 124.91, subdivisions 2 and 3 7, alternative 
  1.25  facilities levies under section 124.239, subdivision 5, minus 
  1.26     (2) the amount of debt service excess levy reduction for 
  1.27  that school year calculated according to the procedure 
  1.28  established by the commissioner. 
  2.1      (b) The obligations in this paragraph are excluded from 
  2.2   eligible debt service revenue: 
  2.3      (1) obligations under section 124.2445; 
  2.4      (2) the part of debt service principal and interest paid 
  2.5   from the taconite environmental protection fund or northeast 
  2.6   Minnesota economic protection trust; 
  2.7      (3) obligations issued under Laws 1991, chapter 265, 
  2.8   article 5, section 18, as amended by Laws 1992, chapter 499, 
  2.9   article 5, section 24; and 
  2.10     (4) obligations under section 124.2455. 
  2.11     (c) For purposes of this section, if a preexisting school 
  2.12  district reorganized under section 122.22, 122.23, or 122.241 to 
  2.13  122.248 is solely responsible for retirement of the preexisting 
  2.14  district's bonded indebtedness, capital loans or debt service 
  2.15  loans, debt service equalization aid must be computed separately 
  2.16  for each of the preexisting school districts. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124A.03, 
  2.18  subdivision 3c, is amended to read: 
  2.19     Subd. 3c.  [REFERENDUM ALLOWANCE REDUCTION.] For fiscal 
  2.20  year 1998 and later, a district's referendum allowance for 
  2.21  referendum authority under subdivision 1c is reduced as provided 
  2.22  in this subdivision.  
  2.23     (a) For referendum revenue authority approved before June 
  2.24  1, 1996, and effective for fiscal year 1997, the reduction 
  2.25  equals the amount of the reduction computed for fiscal year 1997 
  2.26  under subdivision 3b.  
  2.27     (b) For referendum revenue authority approved before June 
  2.28  1, 1996, and effective beginning in fiscal year 1998, the 
  2.29  reduction equals the amount of the reduction computed for fiscal 
  2.30  year 1998 under subdivision 3b.  
  2.31     (c) For referendum revenue authority approved after May 31, 
  2.32  1996, there is no reduction.  
  2.33     (d) For districts with more than one referendum authority, 
  2.34  the reduction shall be computed separately for each authority.  
  2.35  The reduction shall be applied first to authorities levied 
  2.36  against tax capacity, and then to authorities levied against 
  3.1   referendum market value.  For districts with more than one 
  3.2   authority levied against net tax capacity or against referendum 
  3.3   market value, the referendum allowance reduction shall be 
  3.4   applied first to the authority with the earliest expiration date.
  3.5      (e) For a newly reorganized district created after July 1, 
  3.6   1996, the referendum revenue reduction equals the lesser of the 
  3.7   amount calculated for the combined district, or the sum of the 
  3.8   amounts by which each of the reorganizing district's 
  3.9   supplemental revenue reduction exceeds its respective 
  3.10  supplemental revenue allowances calculated for the year 
  3.11  preceding the year of reorganization. 
  3.12     (f) This subdivision does not apply to districts meeting 
  3.13  all of the criteria in section 124C.79, subdivision 1. 
  3.14     Sec. 3.  [124C.79] [SCHOOL DISTRICT EQUITY INCENTIVE 
  3.15  PROGRAM.] 
  3.16     Subdivision 1.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible for school 
  3.17  district equity incentives in subdivision 2, a school district 
  3.18  must meet all of the following criteria using the most recent 
  3.19  actual data available from the department of children, families, 
  3.20  and learning:  
  3.21     (1) for a district with its administrative office located 
  3.22  in the seven-county metropolitan area, its general education 
  3.23  revenue per pupil unit may not exceed 90 percent of the average 
  3.24  general education revenue per pupil unit for all districts in 
  3.25  the seven-county metropolitan area; for a district with its 
  3.26  administrative office located outside of the seven-county 
  3.27  metropolitan area, its general education revenue per pupil unit 
  3.28  may not exceed 90 percent of the average general education 
  3.29  revenue per pupil unit for all districts outside of the 
  3.30  seven-county metropolitan area; 
  3.31     (2) a district's ratio of pupils in average daily 
  3.32  membership to licensed staff must be 17.5 or greater; 
  3.33     (3) for a district with its administrative office located 
  3.34  in the seven-county metropolitan area, its total operating 
  3.35  expenditures per pupil unit may not exceed 85 percent of the 
  3.36  average total operating expenditures per pupil unit for all 
  4.1   districts in the seven-county metropolitan area; for a district 
  4.2   with its administrative office located outside of the 
  4.3   seven-county metropolitan area, its total operating expenditures 
  4.4   per pupil unit may not exceed 85 percent of the average total 
  4.5   operating expenditures per pupil unit for all districts outside 
  4.6   of the seven-county metropolitan area; and 
  4.7      (4) a district's most recent attempt to pass an excess 
  4.8   operating referendum was rejected by its voters.  
  4.9      Subd. 2.  [SCHOOL DISTRICT EQUITY INCENTIVES.] To ensure 
  4.10  that all students receive a minimal level of educational 
  4.11  opportunities, the following school district equity incentives 
  4.12  are available for school districts meeting all of the criteria 
  4.13  in subdivision 1.  
  4.14     (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a school board 
  4.15  meeting the criteria in subdivision 1 may approve a levy of 
  4.16  $....... per pupil unit for technology enhancements that will 
  4.17  directly benefit students.  Technology enhancements that may be 
  4.18  funded by this levy shall include, but not be limited to, 
  4.19  computer hardware and software; Internet access, including 
  4.20  telephone equipment and supplies, textbooks, and other materials 
  4.21  for teaching the uses of technology; and salaries and benefits 
  4.22  for technology instructors and support staff.  
  4.23     (b) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  4.24  shall develop a grant program for school districts meeting the 
  4.25  criteria in subdivision 1.  The maximum grant that a district 
  4.26  may receive shall be no greater than $....... per pupil unit.  
  4.27  Eligible districts shall submit a detailed plan to the 
  4.28  commissioner detailing how the grant funding will be used, 
  4.29  including a description of the desired outcomes that are to be 
  4.30  achieved with the assistance of the grant.  Grant funds awarded 
  4.31  under this subdivision may be used for one or more of the 
  4.32  following purposes:  
  4.33     (1) development and implementation of one or more 
  4.34  site-based management initiatives; 
  4.35     (2) development and implementation of strategies to assist 
  4.36  at-risk students to meet the graduation standards; and 
  5.1      (3) enhancement of a district's educational opportunities 
  5.2   for gifted and talented students.  
  5.3      Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.4      $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 1998 from the 
  5.5   general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  5.6   learning for the purpose of implementing and funding grants 
  5.7   under section 3.  Of this amount, the commissioner may use up to 
  5.8   $....... for administration of the grant program.