BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 81
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 81 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)
As Amended January 30, 2012
Majority vote. Budge Bill Appropriation Takes Effect
Immediately
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
BUDGET 20-5
--------------------------------
|Ayes:|Blumenfield, Nielsen, |
| |Alejo, Allen, Bill |
| |Berryhill, Brownley, |
| |Buchanan, Butler, |
| |Cedillo, Chesbro, |
| |Dickinson, Feuer, Gordon, |
| |Huffman, Jones, Logue, |
| |Mitchell, Monning, |
| |Nestande, Swanson |
| | |
|-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Harkey, Jeffries, |
| |Mansoor, Morrell, Wagner |
| | |
--------------------------------
SUMMARY : Restores $248 million to the Home-to-School
Transportation (HTST) program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12 and
instead applies a reduction of $248 million to school district,
county office of education and charter school funding in the
2011-12 FY. Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases the school district revenue limit deficit factor
from 19.754% to 20.404% for the 2011-12 FY. This adjustment
reduces school district and charter school revenue limit
funding in the current year in order to offset restoration of
funding for the HTST program for 2011-12.
2)Increases the county office of education revenue limit deficit
factor from 20.041% to 20.691% for the 2011-12 FY. This
adjustment reduces county office of education revenue limit
funding in the current year in order to offset restoration of
funding for the HTST program for 2011-12.
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3)Increases the reduction to categorical programs for basic aid
districts in 2011-12 from 8.92% to 9.57%. This ensures a
"fair share" reduction commensurate with the revenue limit
reduction for non-basic aid school districts in 2011-12.
Basic aid districts are defined as districts that do not
receive state funding for revenue limits.
4)Makes an appropriation of $248 million from the General Fund
to the State Department of Education, for transfer to Section
A of the State School Fund, to restore funding for
home-to-school transportation for the 2011-12 FY.
5)Declares that it is to take effect immediately as a bill
providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides discretionary funding to school districts, county
offices of education and charter schools to support the
general costs of operating schools. These funds are provided
based on a formula that takes their average daily attendance
(ADA) over the course of the year and multiplies it by their
individual funding rate (also known as a "revenue limit").
2)Requires, for the 2011-12 school year, that the revenue limit
for each school district, county office of education, and
charter school be reduced pursuant to a specified formula.
3)Provides categorical program funding for school district and
county office of education transportation costs based on the
amount received for that purpose in the prior year, or the
agencies' actual transportation costs, whichever is less.
Existing law also requires school districts to provide
transportation services for special education students if the
students' individualized education plans specify such need.
FISCAL EFFECT : No net fiscal effect. This bill replaces a
one-time $248 million General Fund (Proposition 98) reduction to
the HTST program in 2011-12 with a one-time $248 million General
Fund (Proposition 98) reduction to revenue limits and basic aid
school districts, as specified.
COMMENTS : The Home-to-School Transportation program provides
funds to offset a school district's cost to transport students
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to and from home and school. Allocations are based on either a
district's prior year allocations or approved costs, whichever
is less. In the 1992-93 fiscal year, school districts were
required to establish a base year of funding for both
home-to-school and special education transportation funding.
All future allocations of this funding are based on the amount
districts received in 1992-93.
2011-12 Budget Act . The 2011-12 Budget Act provided a total of
$496 million in General Fund (Proposition 98) for the HTST
Program. Of the $496 million appropriated in the 2011-12 Budget
$491 million is provided for Pupil Transportation, which
includes both allocations for home-to-school transportation and
allocations for some pupils with disabilities, specifically
"severely disabled and orthopedically impaired" pupils. Five
million is provided for Small Bus Replacement.
AB 121 (Budget Committee), Chapter 41, Statutes of 2011
authorized additional reductions to school transportation
appropriations in the Budget Act that would be "triggered" if
state revenue estimates fall below specified levels. In
December 2011, the Department of Finance applied the trigger cut
to the HTST Program, which resulted in the elimination of the
remaining half year of funding for the program in 2011-12. A
trigger cut of $79.6 million was also applied to revenue limit
funding pursuant to AB 121. This bill would undo the trigger
cut for the HTST program and replace it with a comparable
reduction to school district, county office of education and
charter school revenue limit funding. Basic aid school
districts would also take a "fair share" reduction.
2012-13 Budget Proposes to Eliminate Home-to-School
Transportation . The Governor's 2012-13 Budget proposes to
eliminate all funding for the HTST program in 2012-13. The
Governor also proposes eliminating most other categorical
programs and instead would provide districts with a new weighted
pupil formula in an effort to make more funds discretionary for
school districts.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Lawsuit . After
receiving notification of the $248 million "trigger" reduction,
LAUSD filed suit in the Los Angeles Superior Court to block the
mid-year cuts to HTST. LAUSD claims that they would receive a
$38 million reduction, and that they cannot cease to transport
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their students per Crawford v. Board of Education of the City of
Los Angeles (1982) 458 U.S. 527, a 1981 desegregation
court-order. The district argues that the cut would require
them to choose between "two illegal and unconstitutional
outcomes:" terminate transportation services in violation of the
court-order, or divert classroom funds to pay for transportation
(resulting in a "disproportionately lower share of funding and
educational opportunities as compared to students in school
districts without those mandatory costs").
Arguments in support . According to the California School
Employees Association, "The current law $248 million mid-year
cut to school transportation has a devastating impact on school
transportation services across this state and will put the
safety and lives of public school children at risk. The cut
requires a small percentage of districts to shoulder a
disproportionate and unfair fiscal burden at the worst possible
time. If the mid-year school transportation reduction is
implemented, over 180 school districts will be required to take
a cut that is equal to or greater than $150 per ADA. Moreover,
the school districts that will take this large unequal and
unfair cut will have difficulty in implementing such a reduction
because the special education and home-to-school transportation
services provided cannot be reduced or eliminated without having
an impact on student attendance. In many rural areas, public
transportation is not an option and the roads are very
treacherous for them to walk alone on. Elsewhere, children will
have to walk through dangerous neighborhoods and on busy streets
to get to school. Parents may be forced to drop their children
off at school before it opens, with the children left on campus
unattended. Other children will not attend school at all. The
impact of these cuts will also stress our already fragile
economy and high unemployment rate with the mass layoff of bus
drivers, maintenance workers, and others who provide vital
services in ensuring school transportation programs run
smoothly. For all of these reasons, we urge you to sign Senate
Bill 81."
Oppose unless amended . According to the California Charter
Schools Association (CCSA), "SB 81 would impose new and
additional mid-year cuts to K-12 education, including charter
schools contrary to the budget agreement reached last June.
Historically, charter schools have never been provided access to
the Home-to-school Transportation categorical program yet this
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bill seeks to take funds from charter schools to pay for the cut
faced by many school districts, which have had access to the
program. This bill is intended to improve fairness. However,
by including charter public schools the inequities of public
school funding would be further exacerbated since charter
schools were unable to participate in the program prior to the
cut. CCSA respectfully requests amendments to allocate the cuts
only among those school districts which have had access to this
program."
Analysis Prepared by : Misty Feusahrens / BUDGET / (916)
319-2099
FN: 0003107