HB 778-FN-A-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
04/01
HOUSE BILL 778-FN-A-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to a preeminent scholastic educational foundation.
This bill defines preeminent scholastic educational foundation. This bill also repeals the statewide enhanced education tax and the distribution of adequation education grants.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0087
04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to a preeminent scholastic educational foundation.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Adequate Public Education; Policy and Purpose. RSA 193-E:1-2 are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
193-E:1 Preeminent Scholastic Educational Foundation; Policy and Purpose.
I. It is the policy of the state of New Hampshire that an adequate education shall be a preeminent scholastic educational foundation for learning skills that insure that each pupil can learn more complex skills and achieve his or her goals in life based on his or her abilities. An adequate education is deemed fundamental in order to provide all pupils with the foundation knowledge and skills necessary as a basis for lifelong learning to prepare them for successful participation in the social, economic, scientific, technological, and political system of a free government and society, now and in the years to come. It is the duty of the state of New Hampshire to provide pupils with the highest quality scholastic foundation for education necessary to meet these goals.
II. Respecting New Hampshire’s long tradition of community and family involvement, it is the purpose of this chapter to insure that appropriate means are established to provide a quality education without disrupting community involvement. The state shall establish the adequate education curriculum and funding for such to be delivered at the local level. School districts then have the flexibility in implementing broader, more extensive and specialized programs tailored to meet pupil and community needs, and are encouraged to do so.
III. A preeminent scholastic education foundation will provide the pupil with a strong base education that will be the foundation to prepare pupils for later and more complex areas of future learning to meet a pupil’s life goals. An adequate education is designed specifically to provide our children with a foundation for lifelong learning. The state’s responsibility is to guarantee that, at the minimum, each child shall receive a state funded preeminent scholastic educational foundation regardless of where they live and how much money their parents earn. The state responsibility shall be to provide the funds throughout the state based on the pupil population in each district. Further, the state shall strive for future expansion of this educational policy definition from grades 1 through 8 to include high school grade levels, as necessary. The curriculum and educational criteria described in this chapter shall be implemented by the department of education. Our educators are charged with providing each pupil with a preeminent scholastic education foundation and no pupil shall graduate unless the pupil can master this foundation to the extent of his or her abilities.
193-E:2 Criteria for a Preeminent Scholastic Educational Foundation.
I. A preeminent scholastic education, also referred to as an adequate education, shall be elementary school grades 1 through 8, and shall include a challenging curriculum that will give pupils a firm and quality foundation for future and lifelong learning consisting of the following:
(a) Eight years of English which shall include reading, writing, and speaking English to enable pupils to communicate effectively and think creatively and critically.
(b) Eight years of mathematics to enable pupils to analyze information, solve problems, and make rational decisions.
(c) Four years of biological, physical, and earth science to enable pupils to understand and appreciate the world around them and bring their life into perspective with the larger world and universe.
(d) Eight years of civics, history, including United States and New Hampshire history, and geography to enable pupils to understand the world in which they live.
II. At the beginning of each biennium, the legislature shall review the provisions of this section to determine the need, if any, to adjust the educational content set forth in this section and related instructional costs.
III. Beginning July 1, 2008, and every fiscal year thereafter, the full cost of instructional services necessary to provide each elementary school pupil with an adequate education. Such costs shall be a charge against the education trust fund established in RSA 198:39 and shall include:
(a) Teachers’ salaries, including benefits, calculated at the statewide average, as determined by the most recent information available from the department of education, provided that each school district in the state shall receive not less than the average salary and benefits for each teacher needed to maintain a ratio of not less than 12 nor more than 15 pupils per teacher in grades 1 through 4, and a ratio of not less than 16 nor more than 19 pupils per teacher in grades 5 through 8.
(b) The cost of all classroom teaching materials, textbooks, and other instructional supplies, as determined by the department of education based on the most recent information available, provided that each school district shall receive at least $100 per pupil statewide.
(c) The cost of professional development of instructional staff, provided that each school district in the state shall receive at least $50 per pupil multiplied by the most recent available average daily membership in residence for the school district.
IV. The state shall not be liable for other costs such as, but not limited to, the costs of building maintenance, transportation, school district administration, extracurricular activities, school breakfast and lunch programs, or any other program which the school district determines is necessary to meet local educational objectives. The general court may provide full or partial funding for these costs through appropriations from the education trust fund established under RSA 198:39.
2 Reference Deleted; Cooperative Assessment Districts; Purpose. Amend RSA 21-J:14-h to read as follows:
21-J:14-h Purpose. The general court finds that the encouragement and support of the establishment of multi-jurisdictional assessing districts is in the state’s interest in order to ensure the accuracy and fairness of valuations of real property for the purposes of administration of [the statewide enhanced education tax,] county property taxes, school district property taxes, municipal property taxes, the distribution of various forms of state aid, and the equalization of property values among jurisdictions. The general court further recognizes that many municipalities do not have sufficient numbers of real estate parcels, sufficient varieties of real property, or sufficient levels of new development to make it practical or economical to engage full-time, trained, and certified assessing professionals. The general court further finds that the state has a vested interest in encouraging and supporting the establishment of cooperative assessing districts which can efficiently and economically provide full-time, trained, and certified assessing professionals to serve the municipalities which elect to create and join said districts.
3 Commissioner’s Warrant. Amend RSA 76:8, III to read as follows:
III. Municipalities are authorized to assess local property taxes necessary to fund school district appropriations not funded by [the statewide enhanced education tax, by] distributions from the education trust fund under RSA 198:39[,] or by other revenue sources.
4 Adequate Public Education; Chapter Heading Amended. Amend the chapter heading in RSA 193-E to read as follows:
[ADEQUATE PUBLIC EDUCATION] PREEMINENT SCHOLASTIC
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
5 Adequate Public Education. Amend the section heading in RSA 193-E:3 to read as follows:
193-E:3 Delivery of [an Equitable Education] a Preeminent Scholastic Educational Foundation.
6 Cooperative School Districts; Certification of District Taxes. Amend RSA 195:14, I(d) to read as follows:
(d) Unless the provisions of RSA 195:14-a are adopted, the state department of education shall determine each municipality’s proportional share of the net appropriation after application of the grants as follows:
(1) First, the department shall determine each pre-existing district’s proportional share of the amount to be apportioned based on the cooperative school district formula.
(2) Second, the department shall then deduct each pre-existing school district’s [equitable] education grant amount.
(3) [If the resulting amount is less than zero, the department shall reduce the equitable education grant under RSA 198:41 by the difference.
(4)] The department shall notify the commissioner of the department of revenue administration of its determination.
7 Cooperative School Districts; State Aid. Amend RSA 195:15 to read as follows:
195:15 State Aid. The state aid to which a cooperative elementary and/or secondary district shall be entitled shall be the total of those shares of the aid to which the pupils attending the cooperative district would have entitled the pre-existing districts, had they remained in the pre-existing districts. [For the purposes of crediting the cooperative district’s adequate education cost to the pre-existing districts, each such pre-existing district shall have its adequate education cost under RSA 198:38, VII credited against its share of the cooperative school district budget. However, cooperative school districts formed by 2 or more pre-existing districts whose boundaries approximate those of a single township in which they are located shall be treated as a single school district for the purposes of this section.]
8 Education Trust Fund. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 198:39, I to read as follows:
I. The state treasurer shall establish an education trust fund in the treasury. Moneys in such fund shall not be used for any purpose other than to distribute [equitable] education grants to municipalities’ school districts pursuant to RSA 198:42[, and to provide low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief under RSA 198:56-198:61]. The state treasurer shall deposit into this fund immediately upon receipt:
9 School Money; Distribution Schedule. RSA 198:42 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
198:42 Distribution of Education Grants; Appropriation.
I. The cost of a preeminent scholastic educational foundation as determined in RSA 193-E:2 shall be disbursed as grants to each municipality’s school district or districts legally responsible for the education of the pupils who attend approved public schools within the district or in other districts or who attend approved programs for educationally disabled children, as the case may be, from the education trust fund in 4 payments of 20 percent on September 1, 20 percent on November 1, 30 percent on January 1, and 30 percent on April 1 of each school year; provided that for a dependent school district, the education grant shall be distributed to the municipality, which shall appropriate and transfer the grant funds to its dependent school department.
II. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and every fiscal year thereafter, the amount necessary to fund the grants under RSA 193-E:2 is hereby appropriated to the department from the education trust fund created under RSA 198:39. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant from the education trust fund to satisfy the state’s obligation under this section. Such warrant for payment shall be issued regardless of the balance of funds available in the education trust fund. If the balance in the education trust fund, after the issuance of any such warrant, is less than zero, the commissioner of the department of administrative services shall inform the fiscal committee and the governor and council of such balance. This reporting shall not in any way prohibit or delay the distribution of equitable education grants.
III. The department of education shall certify the amount of each grant to the state treasurer and direct the payment thereof to the school district. When a payment of a grant is made to a school district, the municipality on whose behalf the payment is made shall receive notification from the state treasurer of the amount of the payment made to its school district or districts.
IV. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, and every fiscal year thereafter, the amount necessary to fund charter school tuition payments under RSA 194-B:11, I is hereby appropriated to the department from the education trust fund established under RSA 198:39. The education trust fund shall be used to satisfy the state’s obligation under this paragraph. The payment shall be issued regardless of the balance of funds available in the education trust fund.
10 Excess Education Property Tax Payment; Subdivision Heading Amended. Amend the subdivision heading preceding RSA 198:46 to read as follows:
[Excess Education Property Tax Payment] Miscellaneous Provisions
11 References Changes. Amend the following RSA provisions by replacing “equitable education” with “education”: RSA 21-N:1, II(c); RSA 194-B:3, II(i); RSA 195:14, I(c); RSA 195:14-a, I; RSA 198:43; and RSA 198:48-a, VII-VIII.
12 School Attendance; Duty of Parent. Amend RSA 193:1, I(c) to read as follows:
(c) The relevant school district superintendent has excused a child from attendance because the child is physically or mentally unable to attend school, or has been temporarily excused upon the request of the parent for purposes agreed upon by the school authorities and the parent. Such excused absences shall not be permitted if they cause a serious adverse effect upon the student’s educational progress. Students excused for such temporary absences may be claimed as full-time pupils for purposes of calculating state aid under RSA 186-C:18 [and equitable education grants under RSA 198:41].
13 Charter and Open Enrollment School; Funding. Amend RSA 194-B:11, XI to read as follows:
XI. Any money appropriated in the budget for matching charter school grants that remains unused after the department of education issues matching grants to eligible recipients under paragraph X shall be used to provide a one-year transitional grant to public school districts that have lost pupils as a result of the establishment of a charter school, and have paid tuition to the charter school in cash pursuant to subparagraph IX(a). For the first year in which a public school pupil leaves the public school and enrolls in a charter school, the school district that loses the pupil shall be eligible for a charter school transitional grant beginning July 1, 2004 and every fiscal year thereafter, in an amount [per pupil] equal to the amount determined in RSA [198:41] 193-E:2. Such transitional grants shall be administered by the state board of education which shall have the authority to determine eligibility and the amount of money to be awarded to school districts under this section, subject to the amount appropriated in the budget.
14 Application of Receipts; Excess Education Tax Payments. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b)(65) to read as follows:
(65) Money received under RSA 77-A, RSA 77-E, RSA 78, RSA 78-A, RSA 78-B, RSA 83-F, [RSA 198:46,] and from the sweepstakes fund, which shall be credited to the education trust fund under RSA 198:39.
15 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 76:3, relative to the statewide enhanced education tax.
II. RSA 76:8, I and II, relative to the commissioner’s warrant.
III. RSA 76:9, relative to the commissioner’s report.
IV. RSA 83-F:9, relative to the exemption for utilities from the statewide enhanced education tax.
V. RSA 198:38, relative to definitions for educational adequacy.
VI. RSA 198:39, I(g), relative to excess statewide enhanced education tax payments deposited in the general fund.
VII. RSA 198:40-a through RSA 198:40-c, relative to local tax capacity aid, targeted aid, and statewide tax capacity aid.
VIII. RSA 198:41, relative to determination of grants and excess enhanced education property tax.
IX. RSA 198:46, relative to excess education property tax payment.
X. RSA 198:47, relative to forms for excess education property tax payment.
XI. RSA 198:48, relative to maintenance of local control.
XII. RSA 198:56-61, relative to low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief.
XIII. 2005, 257:8, relative to determination of grants and excess enhanced education tax.
XIV. 2005, 257:23, I, relative to the effective date of RSA 198:41, I.
16 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
LBAO
07-0087
Revised 02/16/07
HB 778 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to a preeminent scholastic educational foundation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Education states this bill will decrease state restricted expenditures and local revenue by $362,932,915 in FY 2009, $371,070,453 in FY 2010, and $348,822,552 in FY 2011. The Department states this bill will decrease state restricted revenue by $363,065,989 in FY 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Education assumed adequate education grants under this bill will be distributed beginning in FY 2009. The Department calculated average teacher salary by increasing FY 2006 average teacher salary by 2.9% annually, the percent increase between FY 2005 and FY 2006. The Department states it does not have data for average teacher benefit costs, so the Department assumed the average cost of teacher health and dental benefits in FY 2007 was equal to the cost of 2-person HMO and dental insurance offered to state employees, and increased that cost by 10% each fiscal year thereafter for inflation. The Department assumed enrollment in grades one through eight will continue to decline by 1.6% annually, as it did between FY 2003 and FY 2006. The Department also assumed it will distribute $150 in aid for each student for supply and professional development costs. To estimate the cost of equitable education aid under current law in FY 2010 and FY 2011, the Department made the following assumptions: 1) local expenditures will increase 15.5% between 2005 and 2007, 2) the consumer price index will increase by 3.6% in 2007, 3) average daily membership will decrease by 1.6% from FY 2005 to FY 2007, 4) the number of special education students will decrease by 0.6% from FY 2005 to FY 2007, and 5) the number of students receiving free or reduced-price meals will increase 7% from FY 2005 to FY 2007. The Department calculated state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue for adequate education grants under this bill, as well as the change from current law, as follows:
FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011
Estimated Enrollment 125,496 123,488 121,512
Per Pupil Aid Amount $150 $150 $150
Total Per Pupil Aid $18,824,400 $18,523,200 $18,226,800
Estimated Classes 7,969 7,969 7,969
Estimated Per Teacher Cost
Salary $45,226 $46,538 $47,888
FICA, Retirement, W/C $6,309 $6,492 $6,680
Health & Dental $12,296 $12,906 $14,197
Total Est. Per Teacher Cost $63,831 $65,936 $68,765
Total Per Class Aid $508,669,239 $525,443,984 $547,988,285
Total State Aid/Local Revenue $527,493,639 $543,967,184 $566,215,085
Estimated State Aid/
Local Revenue – Current Law $890,426,554 $915,037,637 $915,037,637
Increase / (Decrease) ($362,932,915) ($371,070,453) ($348,822,552)
The Department states this bill repeals the statewide enhanced education property tax, decreasing state restricted revenue by $363,065,989 in FY 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter.