HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1518

BYRepresentatives Bristow and Grant

Revising allocations for small school district capital construction.

House Committe on Education

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (20)

      Signed by Representatives Peery, Chair; Spanel, Vice Chair; Appelwick, Betrozoff, Butterfield, Cole, Cooper, Ebersole, Fuhrman, Holland, Holm, Pruitt, Rasmussen, Rayburn, Rust, Schoon, Taylor, Todd, Valle and Walker.

House Staff:Susan Patrick (786-7111)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION JANUARY 27, 1988

BACKGROUND:

Currently, in determining the percentage of state assistance for nonhigh school district construction and modernization projects, a nonhigh school district may count only those students actually attending school in their district.  This is based on the assumption that the nonhigh school district bears no cost for the construction of high school facilities.  At the same time, however, a nonhigh school district is required to contribute payment for bonds or excess tax levies to provide capital funds for building programs in the adjacent designated high school district receiving their students.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  Nonhigh school districts shall be allowed to count students who reside in their district, but attend a high school outside the district, as a resident student for the purposes of determining the percentage of state assistance for school construction and modernization for which the district is eligible.

A district, which is providing a high school program for more than thirty-three and one-third percent of the students from the nonhigh school district, must be made a designated district.  The nonhigh school district is required to make contributions to bonds and excess tax levies in the designated school district, only if the district was a designated district at the time the county auditor was requested to place the bond or tax levy measure on the ballot.  Students attending nondesignated high schools shall be counted by the nondesignated high school for purposes of determining the percentage of state assistance for school construction.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The written description of the formula for determining the percentage of state assistance for school construction in nonhigh school districts is made consistent with the formula.  It is made clear that a nonhigh school district must recognize high school districts which are serving more than one-third of the nonhigh school district's students as a designated district.  A provision is added that if a student from the nonhigh school district attends a high school district which does not qualify as a designated district, the high school district may count the nonhigh school student for the purpose of determining the percentage of state assistance for school construction.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 19, 1988.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Suellen White, Superintendent Onion Creek and Summit Valley School Districts; Robert LaLonde, Superintendent Nine Mile Falls School District;  Ray Smith, Rural Education Center.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Bruce Mrkvicka, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

House Committee - Testimony For:    It is important that nonhigh school districts be treated in a manner that allows them to provide the facilities necessary for their elementary school program.  They are providing financing for the facilities necessary in designated districts for their high school students and should be able to count their high school students in determining the percentage of state assistance they will receive for construction of an elementary school.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      There are a series of bills dealing with individual school construction problems.  We should deal with the larger issue of funding school construction rather than providing a larger drain on the existing funding mechanism.