HB 1137 - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2225
\t04/01
HOUSE BILL\t1137
AN ACT\trelative to the adoption of school administrative unit budgets.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Abramson, Rock. 20; Rep. Spillane, Rock. 2; Rep. V. Sullivan, Hills. 16
COMMITTEE:\tEducation
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill amends the alternative budget procedure in a school administrative unit and requires that the warrant article for the school administrative unit budget state the cost per pupil per fiscal year under the proposed budget.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2225
\t04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to the adoption of school administrative unit budgets.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 School Administrative Units; Budget. Amend RSA 194-C:9 to read as follows:
\t194-C:9 Budget.
\t\tI. At a meeting held before January 1, the school administrative unit board shall adopt a budget required for the expenses of the school administrative unit for the next fiscal year, which budget may include the salary and expenses of supervisors of health, physical education, music, art, and guidance, and any other employees, and shall include the expenses necessary for the operation of the school administrative unit. The budget shall contain a section which shows the cost per student for the fiscal year under the proposed budget. Superintendents, assistant superintendents, business administrators, teacher consultants, and the regularly employed office personnel of the school administrative unit office shall be deemed employees of the school administrative unit for the purposes of payment of salaries and contributions to the employee's retirement system of the state of New Hampshire and workers' compensation. The school administrative unit board shall apportion the total amount of the budget among the constituent school districts in the following manner: the apportionment shall be based 1/2 on the average membership in attendance for the previous school year and 1/2 on the most recently available equalized valuation of each district as of June 30 of the preceding school year. Prior to January 15 in each year, the board shall certify to the chairperson of the school board of each constituent school district the amount so apportioned. Each district within a school administrative unit shall raise at the next annual district meeting the sum of money apportioned to it by the school administrative unit board for the expenses of services which each district received in connection with the school administrative unit office. The school administrative unit board in adopting the budget shall not add any new service to the school administrative unit budget unless a majority of the school districts in the school administrative unit representing not less than 60 percent of the total pupils in the school administrative unit have voted favorably upon the establishment of the service. A vote to accept a new service shall not be construed as a vote to raise and appropriate money within the meaning of RSA 197:3.
\t\tII. The provisions of paragraph I shall not apply to school administrative units comprising only one district. The budget for these units shall be a part of the school district budget and subject to the vote of the annual school district meeting or, for those districts without an annual meeting, by the legislative body.
\t\t[III. Paragraph I of this section shall not apply to school districts which have adopted the provisions of RSA 194-C:9-a.]
\t2 School Administrative Units; Alternative Budget Procedure. Amend RSA 194-C:9-b, I to read as follows:
\t\tI. In a school administrative unit composed of 2 or more school districts [which has adopted the provisions of RSA 194-C:9-a], the school administrative unit budget adopted according to RSA 194-C:9, I shall be placed before the voters of each school district of that school administrative unit in a separate warrant article at the annual school district meeting. The warrant article shall include a statement of the cost per student for the fiscal year under the proposed budget. Notwithstanding RSA 32 and RSA 40:13, the budget adopted by the school administrative unit board shall not be amended or changed in any way prior to the vote. Each school district moderator shall cause a vote by paper ballot to be taken, record the number of yeas and nays, and announce the result of the vote at the annual meeting. The ballots shall be delivered to the moderator of the school district with the latest chronological annual meeting. The moderator of the latest chronological annual meeting shall record the total number of yeas and nays, announce the results of the final vote on the question of adopting the school administrative unit budget, and deliver the ballots to the secretary of the school administrative unit. The secretary of the school administrative unit board shall certify the results to the department of revenue administration. A majority of voters voting in favor shall result in adoption of the budget proposed by the school administrative unit board. If the article receives less than a majority vote, the budget amount accepted shall be that of the previous year adjusted for continuing contracts. Wording of the warrant article shall be as follows:
\t"Shall the voters of __________ (name of school district) __________ adopt a school administrative unit budget of $_____ for the forthcoming fiscal year in which $_____ is assigned to the school budget of this school district and which will cost $_______ per student for the fiscal year?
\tThis year's adjusted budget of $_____, with $_____ assigned to the school budget of this school district, will be adopted if the article does not receive a majority vote of all the school district voters voting in this school administrative unit.''
\t3 Repeal. 194-C:9-a, relative to school administrative unit alternative budget procedure, is repealed.
\t4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.