§ 15704 School Facility Funding Priority

This law tells the board how to decide which school districts get extra money first, using things like how crowded schools are, how fast student numbers are growing, how much local tax money has already been spent on school buildings, and how long the district has been waiting.

Key Takeaways

•More crowded schools get more points and are more likely to receive money.
•Fast‑growing districts earn extra points for each 5% increase in attendance.
•Districts that have already spent local tax money on school buildings earn points based on the amount spent.
•Every month a district’s application waits adds one extra point, up to one point per month.

Example

A small town has 500 kids attending school each day, but only three usable classrooms. The town has been waiting for money for three months.

The board will add up points for how many kids don’t have enough room, how fast the student count has grown, how much local tax money has already been spent on school buildings, and how many months the town has waited. The town with the most points gets the money first.

How to Calculate

Two priority points for each percent of students who are inadequately housed.\nInadequately housed pupils = AAD – (classrooms ≤ 2 × 25) – (classrooms > 2 × 33)\nPercent inadequately housed = (Inadequately housed / AAD) × 100\nPriority points = 2 × Percent inadequately housed (drop any fraction)

Find the latest average daily attendance (AAD).
Count how many classrooms are usable.
Multiply the first two classrooms by 25 and any extra classrooms by 33, then add them together.
Subtract that total from the AAD to get the number of students who don’t have enough room.
Divide the number from Step 4 by the AAD and multiply by 100 to get a percent.
Multiply the percent by 2 to get priority points, then drop any decimal part.

District has 500 students (AAD) and 3 usable classrooms, and has been waiting 3 months.

Result: Inadequately housed = 500 – 83 = 417 students.\nPercent inadequately housed = (417 / 500) × 100 = 83.4%.\nPriority points = 2 × 83.4 = 166.8 → 166 points (fraction dropped).

The board by the adoption of rules shall give priority in allocating funds to districts to those districts where the children will benefit most from additional schoolhouse facilities. This priority shall be based on acuteness of overcrowding, on sudden growth in attendance, on amount of local tax funds expended for housing of a character within the purposes of this chapter, and on the time the district’s application has been ready for allotment. The board may make exceptions when it determines that it will be for the benefit of the children affected. In adopting rules the board may provide for the granting of priority points to govern the allocation according to the following schedule: (a) Two priority points may be granted for each percent of the latest computed average daily attendance of the district that is inadequately housed. The number of inadequately housed pupils is the latest computed average daily attendance of the district less the sum of both of the following: (1) Any classrooms up to a total of two, multiplied by 25. (2) Any classrooms in excess of two, multiplied by 33. The term “classrooms” for the purposes of this computation shall mean any school classrooms, temporary and permanent, determined by the State Department of Education to be safely usable. (b) One priority point may be granted for each 5 percent of the latest computed average daily attendance of the district that represents an increase over the average daily attendance for the fifth preceding school year. (c) One point of priority may be granted for each one-twentieth of 1 percent of the assessed valuation of the district, collected in taxes and expended for school housing within the scope of this chapter since July 1, 1944. Expenditure of the proceeds of the sale of bonds shall not be counted but expenditure for interest and retirement of bonds shall be counted. (d) Not more than one point of priority shall be allowed for each calendar month that the completed application of the district has awaited funds. If any computation of priority points made under this section results in a fraction of a point, that fraction shall be disregarded and the number of priority points shall be taken as the next lowest whole number. These priorities shall be recomputed at least semiannually when funds are available for allocation, on the respective periods of time next preceding the date of computation. The State Department of Education shall assist and cooperate with the board in determining priority ratings. (Repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 277, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997. Operative January 1, 1998.)

Key Takeaways

•More crowded schools get more points and are more likely to receive money.
•Fast‑growing districts earn extra points for each 5% increase in attendance.
•Districts that have already spent local tax money on school buildings earn points based on the amount spent.
•Every month a district’s application waits adds one extra point, up to one point per month.

Example

A small town has 500 kids attending school each day, but only three usable classrooms. The town has been waiting for money for three months.

How to Calculate

Find the latest average daily attendance (AAD).
Count how many classrooms are usable.
Multiply the first two classrooms by 25 and any extra classrooms by 33, then add them together.
Subtract that total from the AAD to get the number of students who don’t have enough room.
Divide the number from Step 4 by the AAD and multiply by 100 to get a percent.
Multiply the percent by 2 to get priority points, then drop any decimal part.

District has 500 students (AAD) and 3 usable classrooms, and has been waiting 3 months.

Result: Inadequately housed = 500 – 83 = 417 students.\nPercent inadequately housed = (417 / 500) × 100 = 83.4%.\nPriority points = 2 × 83.4 = 166.8 → 166 points (fraction dropped).

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

References

§ 15704 School Facility Funding Priority

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

References

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References