H-0881.4          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 1788

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Representatives Morton, Peery, Chandler, Orr, Lisk, Inslee, Silver, Locke, McLean, Bowman, Mielke, Brumsickle, Edmondson, Fuhrman, Ballard, Vance, Basich, Brough, Nealey, Wynne, Sheldon, P. Johnson and H. Myers.

Read first time February 11, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Education\Appropriations.Providing state funding assistance to small school districts in distressed areas.

     AN ACT Relating to providing state funding assistance to school districts with student populations of two thousand or less located in distressed areas; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; and making an appropriation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:

     (1)  The superintendent of public instruction shall grant funds to local school districts of the second class under RCW 28A.315.230, from moneys appropriated for this purpose, if the school district meets three of the criteria in this section:

     (a)  The median household income is at least twenty percent below the state average;

     (b)  The number of families receiving aid to families with dependent children is two percent above the state-wide average;

     (c)  The unemployment rate within the school district is two percent above the state-wide average;

     (d)  The assessed valuation of property for excess levy purposes would require a levy rate of more than two dollars per one thousand dollars of valuation to generate an amount equal to ten percent of the district's total general fund expenditure for the preceding year;

     (e) The district does not receive federal impact aid in excess of the amount calculated in (d) of this subsection; and

     (f) If a second class school district is a joint district under RCW 28A.315.350, the criteria under this subsection shall be applied based upon the county which comes closest to meeting the criteria under this subsection.

     (2)  The funds provided to eligible school districts under this section shall not exceed the maximum amount the district could raise under subsection (1)(d) of this section less any federal impact funds provided to the district.  Available funds shall be equitably distributed among all eligible districts.

     (3)  Funds distributed under this section are not part of the district's basic education allocation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.      The sum of ten million five hundred fifty-six thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the superintendent of public instruction from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1993, to carry out the purposes of section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.      If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.