BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Dede Alpert, Chair
1999-2000 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 537
AUTHOR: Monteith
AS INTRODUCED: February 19, 1999
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 7, 1999
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:James Wilson
SUMMARY
This bill allows a recently unified school district to
receive financial assistance for home-to-school
transportation in the 1999-2000 fiscal year. By opening a
"window" to receipt of state funding, the bill also allows
the district to receive annual allocations in future years.
BACKGROUND
Current law governing the state's reimbursement of school
district home-to-school transportation costs provides for
each district to receive the lesser of that district's
allowance in the prior year, or the district's actual
costs. Since a newly formed school district has neither
prior year costs, nor an established allowance, most new
school districts operate home-to-school transportation
programs in their first year without state funding in order
to qualify to receive reimbursement in future years.
When a new district is formed, Education Code Section
41851.7 (attached) provides a means for transferring
transportation services, and thus transferring both part of
a transportation allowance and establishing a cost basis
for future state funding.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Declares that a unified school district that was
formed in 1998 from part of another unified school
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district shall be considered to have a $120,000
home-to-school transportation allowance for the
1998-1999 fiscal year.
2) Appropriates $120,000 from the General Fund for
allocation to the Golden Valley Unified School
District in order to provide the district with a
home-to-school transportation allowance for the
1999-2000 fiscal year.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Who would qualify? The Department of Education
confirms that the Golden Valley Unified School
District is the only district that would qualify for a
transportation allowance under the requirement that
the district was formed in 1998 from territory taken
from another unified district that continues to exist.
The Department of Education reports, however, that although
the election to form Golden Valley happened in 1998,
the district will not formally exist until July 1,
1999. Therefore staff recommends that the bill be
amended as follows:
On page 2, line 4, after "1998"
And insertto become effective July 1, 1999
2) Both costs and an allowance are needed for funding.
The bill currently declares that the newly formed
(Golden Valley Unified) district "shall be considered
to have had a home-to-school transportation allowance
of $120,000 in the 1998-99 fiscal year." In itself,
establishing an allowance is only one of two necessary
elements in order for the district to receive
home-to-school transportation funding in 1999-2000.
Without prior year costs, funds could not be
allocated. This matter could be addressed by allowing
the Golden Valley District to operate the program
without state funding for one year, thereby
establishing a cost basis for future funding. In the
alternative, the bill could be amended so that the
district is deemed to have both an allowance and costs
of $120,000 in 1998-99.
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3) Has current law been tried? The Golden Valley
Unified School District is being formed out of
territory formerly in the Madera Unified School
District. Madera currently reports $3.5 million of
home-to-school transportation costs which are
partially reimbursed with $2.6 million of state
funding (allowance) and $600,000 of supplemental grant
funding that the district has chosen to apply to their
program. The Madera Unified District could transfer
$120,000 of its $2.6 million allowance to Golden
Valley under current law, although this transfer must
be made voluntarily by Madera and cannot be forced by
Golden Valley. Is this bill necessary because Madera
refuses to transfer part of its allowance, or so that
Golden Valley will not have to establish a cost basis
by operating the program without state help for the
first year?
SUPPORT
Golden Valley Unified School District
OPPOSITION
None received
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Attachment : Education Code Section 41851.7
41851.7. For the purpose of receiving an allowance
pursuant to this section, a school district, county
superintendent, or joint powers agency which transfers any
part of its pupil transportation service to another entity
shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction
the proportion of the costs in the fiscal year prior to the
transfer that are attributable to the part of the service
transferred. In determining the allowance for the fiscal
years subsequent to the transfer, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, prior to the application of any
cost-of-living adjustment, shall reduce the allowance of
the entity transferring the service in proportion to the
costs reported, and, if appropriate, increase or establish
the allowance of the entity assuming the transferred
service by that amount.