GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

S	1 

SENATE BILL 866

Short Title:  Small School System Supp. Funding.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Basnight; Ballance, Conder, Cooper, Lee, Murphy, Perdue, Plexico, Plyler, Sands, Tally, and Warren.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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May 7, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO PROVIDE SMALL SCHOOL SYSTEM SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Education the sum of $13,879,240 for the 1991-92 fiscal year and the sum of $13,879,240 for the 1992-93 fiscal year for small school system supplemental funding.  The State Board of Education shall allocate these funds (i) to each county school administrative unit with an average daily membership of less than 3000 students and (ii) to each county school administrative unit with an average daily membership of from 3000 to 4000 students if the county in which the local school administrative unit is located has a county adjusted property tax base per student that is below the State adjusted property tax base per student.  The allocation formula shall:
(1)	Round all fractions of positions to the next whole position;
(2)	Provide four additional regular classroom teachers;
(3)	Provide additional program enhancement teachers adequate to offer the standard course of study;
(4)	Change the duty-free period allocation to one teacher assistant per 400 average daily membership;
(5)	Provide a base for the consolidated funds allotment of at least $150,000, excluding textbooks; and
(6)	Allot vocational education funds for grade 6 as well as for grades 7-12.
Sec. 2.  A county in which a local school administrative unit receives funds under this act shall use the funds to supplement and not supplant existing State and local funding for public schools.
The Local Government Commission shall analyze the budgets and the expenditures of school administrative units that receive funds under this act in light of their budgets and expenditures for the previous year and shall determine whether those funds were used to supplement and not supplant State and local funding for public schools.  The Local Government Commission shall report the results of its study to the State Board of Education, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee, and the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, prior to May 1, 1993.
Sec. 3.  As used in this act:
(1)	"Average daily membership”means the final average daily membership in the most recent year for which county current expense appropriations and adjusted property tax valuations are available.
(2)	" County adjusted property tax base per student”means the total assessed property valuation for each county, adjusted using a weighted average of the three most recent annual sales assessment ratio studies, divided by the total number of students in average daily membership who reside within the county.
(3)	" Sales assessment ratio studies”means sales assessment ratio studies performed by the Department of Revenue under G.S. 105-289(h).
(4)	" State adjusted property tax base per student”means the sum of all county adjusted property tax bases divided by the total number of students in average daily membership who reside within the State.
(5)	" Weighted average of the three most recent annual sales assessment ratio studies”means the weighted average of the three most recent annual sales assessment ratio studies in the most recent years for which county current expense appropriations and adjusted property tax valuations are available.  If real property in a county has been revalued one year prior to the most recent sales assessment ratio study, a weighted average of the two most recent sales assessment ratios shall be used.  If property has been revalued the year of the most recent sales assessment ratio study, the sales assessment ratio for the year of revaluation shall be used.
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1991.