BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 130|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 130
          Author:   Denham (R), et al
          Amended:  5/6/09
          Vote:     27 - Urgency

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  9-0, 4/29/09
          AYES:  Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado,  
            Padilla, Simitian, Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  10-0, 5/28/09
          AYES:  Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, DeSaulnier, Hancock,  
            Leno, Oropeza, Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Walters, Wolk


           SUBJECT  :    King City Joint High School District:   
          emergency loans

           SOURCE  :     Monterey County Office of Education


           DIGEST  :    This bill, appropriates $5 million from the  
          State General Fund to the Superintendent of Public  
          Instruction for apportionment as an emergency loan to the  
          King City Joint Union High School District, and transfers  
          authority over the district from its board of trustees to  
          the Superintendent of Public Instruction who is required to  
          appoint an administrator for the district.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law requires that emergency loans be  
          provided by legislative appropriation and that acceptance  
          of a loan that exceeds 200 percent of a district's  
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                SB 130
                                                                Page  
          2

          recommended reserve requires that the State Superintendent  
          of Public Instruction (SPI) to assume all the legal rights,  
          duties and powers of the district governing board.  The SPI  
          may appoint an administrator to act on behalf of the SPI  
          and the district governing board becomes advisory to the  
          administrator.

          The King City Joint Union High School District (District)  
          has about 2,000 pupils attending three high schools and one  
          continuation school.  The District had 2007-08 revenues of  
          $19 million and expenditures of $20.7 million.  A beginning  
          balance of $1.7 million allowed the District to end the  
          year with a $10 thousand balance.  The District's reserve  
          requirement (three percent) should be close to $500,000.   
          The Monterey County Office of Education declared the  
          District to not be a "going concern" in December of 2007,  
          and the District was projected to run out of cash in March  
          2009.   

          In order to provide an emergency loan that exceeds 200  
          percent of the District's reserve, current law requires the  
          SPI to assume all the legal rights, duties, and powers of  
          the governing board.  The SPI then appoints a state  
          administrator to act for SPI and the local board becomes  
          advisory to the state administrator.  The authority of the  
          SPI and state administrator continues until specified  
          benchmarks are achieved, allowing the SPI to appoint a  
          trustee to replace the administrator.  Under a trustee the  
          district board regains its authority, but the trustee has  
          the authority to stay and rescind any action of the board.   
          The authority of the SPI and the state-appointed trustee  
          continues until the loan has been repaid, the District has  
          adequate fiscal controls in place and the SPI determines  
          that the district's future compliance with the fiscal plan  
          approved for the district is probable.

          This bill appropriates $5 million from the State General  
          Fund to the SPI for apportionment to the District for the  
          purpose of an emergency loan.  This bill further authorizes  
          the District to augment the emergency loan with an  
          additional $8 million of lease financing in order to  
          increase the loan to $13 million: 

           1.Provides that in order to qualify for the loan, the  







                                                                SB 130
                                                                Page  
          3

             District shall comply with current law except as  
             otherwise specified in the bill.

           2.Requires that the SPI assume all rights, duties, and  
             powers of the District's governing board and appoint a  
             state administrator, in consultation with the county  
             superintendent, and provides for the authority of the  
             SPI and the state administrator to continue until all of  
             the following occur: 

             A.    After one year, the state administrator and the  
                SPI determine that future compliance by the  
                District with recovery plans is probable.

             B.    The SPI has approved all of the recovery plans  
                legally required.

             C.    The County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management  
                Assistance Team (FCMAT) completes the improvement  
                plans required under current law, and has completed  
                at least two reports on district progress in  
                implementing the improvement plans.

             D.    The state administrator certifies that  
                collective bargaining agreements have been  
                ratified, consistent with the recovery plans.

             E.    The District has completed all reports required  
                by the SPI and the state administrator.

             F.    The state administrator certifies that the  
                members of the school board and specified district  
                personnel have successfully completed the training  
                specified by this bill (see #6 below).

           3.The SPI may return power to the governing board for any  
             of the following five areas if performance under the  
             recovery plan for that area has been demonstrated to the  
             satisfaction of the SPI.

             A.    Financial management.

             B.    Pupil achievement.








                                                                SB 130
                                                                Page  
          4

             C.    Personnel management.

             D.    Facilities management.

             E.    Community relations.

           4.Declares intent that the SPI and state administrator  
             work with the District to do all of the following:

             A.    Improve achievement, attendance, dropout rates,  
                and parent involvement.

             B.    Attract and retain quality teachers, and manage  
                fiscal resources.

             C.    Maintain core educational reforms that will lead  
                to improvement of academic achievement.

             D.    Consider the unification of the District with  
                the King City Elementary School District, or any  
                other school district within the general attendance  
                area. 

           5.Specifies the duties of the FCMAT and provides that the  
             District shall bear 100 percent of the costs associated  
             with the activities of the FCMAT.

           6.Provides that the improvement plan for personnel  
             management should include training for:

             A.    Members of the governing board including  
                training in their fiduciary responsibilities as  
                board member and in financial management practices  
                provided by the California School Boards  
                Association.

             B.    All personnel with management, policymaking, and  
                advisory responsibilities who report directly to  
                the state administrator, to ensure they have the  
                knowledge and skills to effectively administer  
                their areas of responsibility.

           7.Provides that the emergency loan may be disbursed only  
             if the state administrator and FCMAT jointly determine  







                                                                SB 130
                                                                Page  
          5

             that it is necessary to support the immediate cash flow  
             needs of the district.

           8.Authorizes the District to augment the emergency loan  
             with an additional $8 million of lease financing in  
             order to increase the emergency loan to a total of no  
             more than $13 million.

           9.Requires the District to repay the emergency loan  
             amortized over a 20-year term, including the usual  
             interest calculated at a rate equal to the rate earned  
             by the Pooled Money Investment Account in the State  
             Treasury. 

          10.Requires the District to enter into lease financing with  
             the California Infrastructure and Economic Development  
             Bank for the purpose of financing the emergency loan. 

          11.Provides that the Director of the Department of Finance  
             may amend the payment schedule if the director concludes  
             that the amendment is warranted and is in the best  
             interests of both the state and the District, provided  
             that the Director of Finance gives 90-day notice to the  
             Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

          12.From June 1, 2009, to June 30, 2012, authorizes the  
             District to sell property owned by the district and use  
             the proceeds from the sale to reduce or retire the  
             emergency loan.

          FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2008-09     2009-10     
           2010-11   Fund
           
          Emergency Loan           $5,000              General

          I-Bank Lease financing                        
          ($5,000)General







                                                                SB 130
                                                                Page  
          6


           SUPPORT :   (Verified  5/28/09)

          Monterey County Office of Education (source)
          California State Controller, John Chiang
          California Teachers Association
          California Teachers Association
          Department of Education
          Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team
          King City Joint Unified High School District


          DLW:do  5/29/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****