1 | ARTICLE 10 | |
2 | RELATING TO EDUCATION | |
3 | SECTION 1. Section 16-7-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-7 entitled “Foundation | |
4 | Level School Support” is hereby amended to read as follows: | |
5 | 16-7-20. Determination of state's share. | |
6 | (a) For each community the state's share shall be computed as follows: Let | |
7 | R=state share ratio for the community. | |
8 | v=adjusted equalized weighted assessed valuation for the community, as defined in § 16- | |
9 | 7-21(3). | |
10 | V=sum of the values of v for all communities. | |
11 | m=average daily membership of pupils in the community as defined in § 16-7-22(3). | |
12 | M=total average daily membership of pupils in the state. | |
13 | E=approved reimbursable expenditures for the community for the reference year minus the | |
14 | excess costs of special education, tuitions, federal and state receipts, and other income. | |
15 | Then the state share entitlement for the community shall be RE where | |
16 | R = 1 − 0.5vM/(Vm) through June 30, 2011, and R = 1 − 0.475 vM/(Vm) beginning on | |
17 | July 1, 2011 and thereafter. Except that in no case shall R be less than zero percent (0%). | |
18 | (b) Whenever any funds are appropriated for educational purposes, the funds shall be used | |
19 | for educational purposes only and all state funds appropriated for educational purposes must be | |
20 | used to supplement any and all money allocated by a city or town for educational purposes and in | |
21 | no event shall state funds be used to supplant, directly or indirectly, any money allocated by a city | |
22 | or town for educational purposes. The courts of this state shall enforce this section by writ of | |
23 | mandamus. | |
24 | (c) Notwithstanding the calculations in subsection (a), the hospital school at the Hasbro | |
25 | Children's Hospital shall be reimbursed one hundred percent (100%) of all expenditures approved | |
26 | by the council on elementary and secondary education in accordance with currently existing rules | |
27 | and regulations for administering state aid, and subject to annual appropriations by the general | |
28 | assembly including, but not limited to, expenditures for educational personnel, supplies, and | |
29 | materials in the prior fiscal year. | |
30 | (d) In the event the computation of the state's share for any local education agency as | |
31 | outlined in subsection (a) is determined to have been calculated incorrectly after the state budget | |
| ||
1 | for that fiscal year has been enacted, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall | |
2 | notify affected local education agencies, the senate president, and the speaker of the house within | |
3 | fifteen (15) days of the determination. | |
4 | (e) Realignment of aid payments to the affected local education agencies pursuant to | |
5 | subsection (d) shall occur in the following fiscal year: | |
6 | (1) If the determination shows aid is underpaid to the local education agency, any amounts | |
7 | owed shall be paid in equal monthly installments. | |
8 | (2) If the determination shows aid was overpaid, the department of elementary and | |
9 | secondary education shall recapture some amount of the aid from the overpaid local education | |
10 | agency. The amount to be withheld shall be equal to the amount of the overpayment prorated to the | |
11 | number of full months remaining in the fiscal year when the notification required in subsection (d) | |
12 | was made. | |
13 | (f) The above notwithstanding, in no event shall the total paid to a local education agency | |
14 | in the 2023 fiscal year pursuant subsection (a), above, be reduced as the result of the implementation | |
15 | of section (1), above. | |
16 | SECTION 2. Section 45-38.2-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 38.2-4 entitled “School | |
17 | Building Authority Capital Fund” is hereby amended to read as follows: | |
18 | 45-38.2-4. Payment of state funds. | |
19 | (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), upon the written request of the corporation, | |
20 | the general treasurer shall pay to the corporation, from time to time, from the proceeds of any bonds | |
21 | or notes issued by the state for the purposes of this chapter or funds otherwise lawfully payable to | |
22 | the corporation for the purposes of this chapter, such amounts as shall have been appropriated or | |
23 | lawfully designated for the fund. All amounts so paid shall be credited to the fund in addition to | |
24 | any other amounts credited or expected to be credited to the fund. | |
25 | (b) The corporation and the state may enter into, execute, and deliver one or more | |
26 | agreements setting forth or otherwise determining the terms, conditions, and procedures for, and | |
27 | the amount, time, and manner of payment of, all amounts available from the state to the corporation | |
28 | under this section. | |
29 | (c) The corporation, per order of the school building authority capital fund, is authorized | |
30 | to grant a district or municipality its state share of an approved project cost, pursuant to §§ 16-7-39 | |
31 | and 16-77.1-5. Construction pay-as-you-go grants received from the school building authority | |
32 | capital fund shall not be considered a form of indebtedness subject to the provisions of § 16-7-44. | |
33 | (d) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 45-12-19 and 45-12-20, and notwithstanding | |
34 | city or town charter provisions to the contrary, prior to July 1, 2016, no voter approval shall be | |
|
| |
1 | required for loans in any amount made to a city or town for the local education agency's share of | |
2 | total project costs. | |
3 | (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 45-12-19 and 45-12-20, and notwithstanding city | |
4 | or town charter provisions to the contrary, on or after July 1, 2016, up to five hundred thousand | |
5 | dollars ($500,000) may be loaned to a city or town for the local education agency's share of total | |
6 | project costs without the requirement of voter approval. | |
7 | (e) (1) Funds from the two hundred fifty million ($250,000,000) in general obligation | |
8 | bonds, if approved on the November 2018 ballot, shall first be used to support the state share of | |
9 | foundational housing aid and shall be offered to local education agencies on a pay-as-you-go basis | |
10 | and not as a reimbursement of debt service for previously completed projects. | |
11 | (2) Funds to support approved projects in a given year on a pay-as-you-go basis shall be | |
12 | offered proportionately to local education agencies based on the total state share of foundational | |
13 | housing aid awarded to projects in that year. | |
14 | (3) Any excess funds up may be transferred to the school building authority capital fund in | |
15 | an amount not to exceed five percent (5%) of any amount of bonds issued in a given year. | |
16 | (f) (1) Two hundred million ($200,000,000) in general obligation bonds, if approved on | |
17 | the November 2022 ballot, shall be used to support approved projects as defined by § 16-7-36(2) | |
18 | and shall be offered to local education agencies on a pay-as-you-go basis and not as a | |
19 | reimbursement of debt service for previously completed projects. | |
20 | (2) Fifty million ($50,000,000) in general obligation bonds, if approved on the November | |
21 | 2022 ballot, shall be transferred to the school building authority capital fund to help create facility | |
22 | equity between Rhode Island students. | |
23 | (3) Any excess funds up may be transferred to the school building authority capital fund in | |
24 | an amount not to exceed five percent (5%) of any amount of bonds issued in a given year. | |
25 | (f) (g) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the term of any bond, capital lease, | |
26 | or other financing instrument shall not exceed the useful life of the project being financed. | |
27 | (g) (h) In accordance with §§ 45-10-5.1 and 45-10-6, the auditor general shall give | |
28 | guidance to municipalities and school districts on the uniform financial reporting of construction | |
29 | debt authorized and issued, and on funding received from the state within ninety (90) days of the | |
30 | passage of this article. | |
31 | SECTION 3. This Article shall take effect upon passage. | |
|
|