SMALL COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.

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View NCGA Bill Details2021
House Bill 363 (Public) Filed Tuesday, March 23, 2021
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR SMALL COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEMS.
Intro. by Hanig.

Status: Ref to the Com on Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action) (Mar 24 2021)
H 363

Bill Summaries:

  • Summary date: Mar 23 2021 - View Summary

    Appropriates $1.9 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction to provide additional supplemental funding for small county school systems as follows.

    Establishes a dollar allotment schedule for eligible county school administrative units to receive for the 2021-23 fiscal biennium based on allotted average daily membership (ADM), ranging from 0-1,300 allotted ADM at an $1,820,000 allotment to 2,801-3,300 allotted ADM at an $1,548,000 allotment. Requires phasing out funding over a five-year period for units that become ineligible under the schedule during either year of the fiscal biennium. Prohibits allotment reduction for eligible units by more than 20% of the amount received in 2020-21, or 20% of the amount received in 2021-22, in any fiscal year. Provides that units are not ineligible if either the highest of the first two months' total projected ADM for the current year or the higher of the first two months' total prior year ADM would otherwise have made the unit eligible for funds under the schedule.

    Restricts use of the funds to supplement local current expense funds. Bars the State Board of Education (State Board) from allocating funds in the 2021-23 fiscal biennium to counties that have used the funds to supplant local per-student current expense funds. Requires the State Board to make a finding that a county has used the funds to supplant current expense funds in the prior year or the year for which the most recent data is available if (1) the current expense appropriation per student of the county for the current year is less than 95% of the average of local current expense appropriation per student for the three prior fiscal years, and (2) the county cannot show that it has remedied the deficiency or that extraordinary circumstances caused the county to supplant local funds with the allocated funds. Requires the State Board to adopt implementing rules. Directs the State Board to annually report to the specified NCGA division during 2021-23 any determination of counties supplanting funds. 

    Encourages local boards of education to use at least 20% of the funds they receive from this act to improve the academic performance of children performing at Level I or II in either reading or math end-of-grade tests in grades 3-8. Authorizes units to use funds to purchase services that allow for extraction of data from the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS).

    Effective July 1, 2021.