HOUSE BILL REPORT

SB 5736

As Amended by the House

BYSenators Bailey, Rinehart, Gaspard, Smitherman, Bender, Lee, Fleming, Metcalf, Murray, Anderson, Conner and Smith; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Modifying local funding requirements for school construction.

House Committe on Education

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendments.  (18)

      Signed by Representatives Peery, Chair; G. Fisher, Vice Chair; Betrozoff, Ranking Republican Member; Brumsickle, Cole, Dorn, Fuhrman, Holland, Horn, Jones, Phillips, Pruitt, Rasmussen, Rayburn, Schoon, Valle, Walker and K. Wilson.

House Staff:Susan Patrick (786-7111)

Rereferred House Committee on Capital Facilities & Financing

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended by Committee on Capital Facilities & Financing and without amendments by Committee on Education.  (13)

      Signed by Representatives H. Sommers, Chair; Rasmussen, Vice Chair; Schoon, Ranking Republican Member; Beck, Betrozoff, Bowman, Braddock, Bristow, Fraser, Jacobsen, Peery, Wang and Winsley.

House Staff:      Janet Peterson (786-7136)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 11, 1989

BACKGROUND:

The state matching ratio for most school construction and modernization projects is based on the school district's assessed valuation per pupil.  That is, districts with a low property tax base per pupil receive a higher state match, and vice versa.

Currently, in determining a district's state matching ratio, the district's assessed valuation per pupil is computed using only students enrolled in that district.  For districts without high school programs, this excludes the students that they send elsewhere to high school.  However, these non-high school districts are required to contribute when high school facilities are built in districts designated to serve their high school students.  Thus, the high school students residing in the non high district are not counted in determining the district's assessed valuation per pupil, even though they generate capital costs for the district.

While statutes on the state matching ratio for school construction refer to full time equivalent enrollment, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction currently uses October headcount, with kindergarten students counted as half. During a recent court case in Spokane County, the issue arose as to whether preschool handicapped students should also be included in the enrollment counts.

The State Board of Education may currently waive local matching requirements for school districts that have issued local debt up to their statutory capacity or some lesser amount, as determined by the board.

SUMMARY:

The calculation of state matching ratio for a school construction project for a non-high school district which had passed a local bond issue for the project prior to the effective date of this bill will not be changed.

In determining the state matching ratio for a school construction project in a non-high school district, the district's assessed valuation per pupil shall be computed using enrollment counts that include resident high school students enrolled in designated high school serving districts.

In the case of a high school facility serving students from non-high districts, the assessed valuation per pupil shall be computed by combining the enrollments and assessed valuations of all of the district served.

If a high school district serves more than one third of the high school students from a non-high school district, the non- high district must designate the high school district as a high school serving district, and contribute to the local share of costs of its high school facilities.  Non-resident students from the non-high school district would be excluded from a high school district's enrollment count if the high school district is a designated serving high school.

The enrollments used for computing the state matching ratio shall be the October headcount enrollments submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with kindergarten and preschool handicapped students counted as half.

The criteria for waiving the local matching requirement due to local debt burden is set at two and one half percent of a district's taxable property, which is the district's statutory debt ceiling.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

Effective Date:The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    (Education)  Mike Roberts, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  Don Johnson and Mike Roberts, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

House Committee - Testified Against:      (Education)  None Presented.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (Education)  This bill is the equivalent of HB 1326 sponsored by Representative Bristow. It was written by the Attorney General assigned to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and has addressed all the issues raised in our discussions of HB 1326.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  This is an executive request bill and solves the same technical problems addressed in HB 1326.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      Education)  None Presented.

(Capital Facilities & Financing)  None Presented.