HF 2169

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education finance; modifying the calculation of sparsity revenue;
reestablishing a levy for school districts in statutory operating debt; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 126C.10, subdivisions 6, 7; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 126C.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 126C.10, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Definitions.

The definitions in this subdivision apply only to subdivisions
7 and 8.

(a) "High school" means a public secondary school, except a charter school under
section 124D.10, that has pupils enrolled in at least the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. If
there is no high school in the district and the school is at least 19 miles from the next
nearest school, the commissioner must designate one school in the district as a high school
for the purposes of this section.

(b) "Secondary average daily membership" means, for a district that has only one
high school, the new text begin greater of the resident average daily membership in grades 7 through 12
or the new text end average daily membership of pupils served in grades 7 through 12. For a district
that has more than one high school, "secondary average daily membership" for each high
school means the product of the average daily membership of pupils served in grades 7
through 12 in the high school, times the ratio of six to the number of grades in the high
school.

(c) "Attendance area" means the total surface area of the district, in square miles,
divided by the number of high schools in the district. For a district that does not operate
a high school and is less than 19 miles from the nearest operating high school, the
attendance area equals zero.

(d) "Isolation index" for a high school means the square root of 55 percent of the
attendance area plus the distance in miles, according to the usually traveled routes,
between the high school and the nearest high school. For a district in which there is located
land defined in section 84A.01, 84A.20, or 84A.31, the distance in miles is the sum of:

(1) the square root of one-half of the attendance area; and

(2) the distance from the border of the district to the nearest high school.

(e) "Qualifying high school" means a high school that has an isolation index greater
than 23 and that has secondary average daily membership of less than 400.

(f) "Qualifying elementary school" means a public elementary school, except a
charter school under section 124D.10, that is located 19 miles or more from the nearest
elementary school or from the nearest elementary school within the district and, in either
case, has an elementary average daily membership of an average of 20 or fewer per grade.

(g) "Elementary average daily membership" means, for a district that has only
one elementary school, the average daily membership of pupils served in kindergarten
through grade 6. For a district that has more than one elementary school, "average daily
membership" for each school means the average daily membership of pupils served in
kindergarten through grade 6 multiplied by the ratio of seven to the number of grades
in the elementary school.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2008.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 126C.10, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Secondary sparsity revenue.

(a) A district's secondary sparsity revenue
for a school year equals the sum of the results of the following calculation for each
qualifying high school in the district:

(1) the formula allowance for the school year, multiplied by

(2) the secondary average daily membership deleted text begin of pupils served in the high school deleted text end ,
multiplied by

(3) the quotient obtained by dividing 400 minus the secondary average daily
membership by 400 plus the secondary daily membership, multiplied by

(4) the lesser of 1.5 or the quotient obtained by dividing the isolation index minus
23 by ten.

(b) A newly formed district that is the result of districts combining under the
cooperation and combination program or consolidating under section 123A.48 must
receive secondary sparsity revenue equal to the greater of: (1) the amount calculated
under paragraph (a) for the combined district; or (2) the sum of the amounts of secondary
sparsity revenue the former districts had in the year prior to consolidation, increased for
any subsequent changes in the secondary sparsity formula.

Sec. 3.

new text begin [126C.4201] 2006 OPERATING DEBT.
new text end

new text begin (a) For taxes payable in 2008 through 2017, a school district that has filed a plan
according to section 123B.83, subdivision 4, may levy to eliminate a deficit in the net
undesignated balance in the general fund, determined as of June 30, 2006, as certified
and adjusted by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (b) Each year, the levy must not exceed the lesser of $100,000 or 0.02 times the
adjusted net tax capacity of the school district.
new text end

new text begin (c) The proceeds of this levy must be used only for cash flow requirements and must
not be used to supplement district revenue or income for the purposes of increasing the
district's expenditures or budget.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for taxes payable in 2008.
new text end