BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                    SB 81|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 81
          Author:   Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
          Amended:  1/30/12 
          Vote:     21

           
          PRIOR SENATE VOTES NOT RELEVANT

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  Not available


           SUBJECT :    Home to School Transportation program:  funding

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill restores a reduction of $248 million 
          to the Home to School Transportation (HTST) program for 
          Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12 and replaces this with a reduction 
          of $248 million to school districts, county offices of 
          education and charter school funding in the 2011-12 FY. 

           Assembly Amendments  delete the prior version of the bill 
          which was the transportation budget trailer bill containing 
          provisions necessary to modify the 2010-11 budget and 
          implement the 2011 Budget Act. 

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing Law

           1.Provides discretionary funding to school districts, 
            county offices of education and charter schools to 
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            support the general costs of operating schools.  These 
            funds are provided based on a formula that takes their 
            average daily attendance 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' individual education 
            plans specify such need.

          This bill restores a reduction of $248 million to the Home 
          to Scholl Transportation (HTST) program for Fiscal Year 
          (FY) 2011-12 and replaces this with a reduction of $248 
          million to school districts, county offices 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 percent to 20.404 percent 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 percent to 20.691 percent 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 for2011-12.

          3.Increases the reduction to categorical programs for Basic 
            Aid districts in 2011-12 from 8.92 percent to 9.57 
            percent.  This ensures a "fair share" reduction 

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            commensurate with the revenue limit reduction for 
            non-Basic Aid 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 California 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 the bill is to take effect immediately as a 
            bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget 
            Bill.

           Comments

           The HTST program provides funds to offset a school 
          district's cost to transport students 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 FY, 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 $495 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.  $5 million is 
          provided for Small Bus Replacement.

          AB 121 (Assembly Budget Committee), Chapter 41, Statutes of 
          2011, authorized additional reductions to school 
          transportation appropriations in the Budget Act that would 
          be "triggered" if state revenues 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 

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          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 their students due to a 1981 
          desegregation court-order and special education 
          transportation requirements.  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").

           Problems with the Existing Program  .  The Bureau of State 
          Audits (BSA) released a report on HTST in 2007, 
          acknowledging many problems with the existing program 
          funding formula.  Some of the findings include:

          1.The current funding mechanism prevents some school 
            districts that did not receive HTST program funds in the 
            immediately preceding fiscal year from receiving these 
            funds because of the basis of allocation.

          2.Allocation increases are not always consistent with 
            student population growth.  Some school districts have 

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            experienced dramatic increases in student population over 
            the years; however, their allocations have not always 
            increased at the same rate.

          3.Most school districts had to use other funding sources to 
            pay for some transportation costs and many reported it 
            had varying levels of fiscal impact on other programs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

          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.

          SUPPORT  :   (Verified  2/1/12)

          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 
          Employees (AFL-CIO) Atascadero Unified School District
          Burrel Union Elementary School District 
          Butte Valley Unified School District 
          Caliente Union School District 
          California Association of School Transportation Officials
          California Department of Education 
          California Labor Federation 
          California Nurses Association 
          California PTA 
          California School Boards Association
          California School Employees Association 
          California Teachers Association Central Union School 
          District 
          Central Valley Education Coalition 
          Chatom Union School District 
          Coast Unified School District 
          Cottonwood Union School District 
          Cuyama Joint Unified School District 
          Education Coalition 
          Gold Trail Union School District 
          Golden Feather Union Elementary School District 
          Keppel Union School District 
          Kern County Superintendent of Schools 
          Kings Canyon Unified School District 

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          Los Angeles Unified School District 
          Mariposa County Office of Education 
          Paso Robles Joint Union School District 
          Pierce Joint Unified School District 
          Placer Hills Union School District
          Redding School District 
          Sandy Bluffs Alternative Education Center 
          Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified School District 
          Sierra Unified School District 
          Small School Districts Association 
          Snowline Joint Unified School District 
          Sunnyvale School District Trinidad Union School District 
          Twin Rivers Unified School District 
          Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District 
          Washington Unified School District
          Wheatland School District

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  2/1/12)

          California Charter Schools Association (unless amended) 
          School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (unless 
          amended)

           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 

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          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."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    According to the California 
          Charter Schools Association, "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 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."  
           
          CPM:cm  2/1/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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