Senate Bill No. 67
(By Senators Bowman and Chafin)
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[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-9A-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to allocating $15,000 to each
county to be used for transporting students to school-related
activities within the state; requiring approval in advance
from superintendent of schools for the county making the
request; and forfeiture of unused funds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-9A-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-7. Foundation allowance for transportation cost.
(a) The allowance in the foundation school program for each
county for transportation
shall be is the sum of the following
computations:
(1) A percentage of the transportation costs incurred by the
county for maintenance, operation and related costs exclusive of
all salaries, including the costs incurred for contracted
transportation services and public utility transportation, as
follows:
(A) For each high-density county, eighty-seven and one half
percent;
(B) For each medium-density county, ninety percent;
(C) For each low-density county, ninety-two and one half
percent;
(D) For each sparse-density county, ninety-five percent;
(E) For any county for the transportation cost for
maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of all
salaries, for transporting students to and from classes at a
multicounty vocational center, the percentage provided in
paragraphs (A) through (D) of this subdivision as applicable for
the county plus an additional ten percent; and
(F) For any county for that portion of its school bus system
that uses an alternative fuel such as compressed natural gas or
other acceptable alternative fuel, the percentage provided in
paragraphs (A) through (D) of this subdivision as applicable for
the county plus an additional ten percent:
Provided, That any
county using an alternative fuel and qualifying for the additional
allowance under this subdivision shall submit a plan regarding the intended future use of alternatively fueled school buses;
(2) The total cost, within each county, of insurance premiums
on buses, buildings and equipment used in transportation;
(3) An amount equal to eight and one-third percent of the
current replacement value of the bus fleet within each county as
determined by the state board. The amount shall only be used for
the replacement of buses. Buses purchased after July 1, 1999, that
are driven one hundred eighty thousand miles, regardless of year
model, will be subject to the replacement value of eight and
one-third percent as determined by the state board. In addition,
in any school year in which its net enrollment increases when
compared to the net enrollment the year immediately preceding, a
school district may apply to the state superintendent for funding
for an additional bus or buses. The state superintendent shall
make a decision regarding each application based upon an analysis
of the individual school district's net enrollment history and
transportation needs:
Provided, That the superintendent shall not
consider any application which fails to document that the county
has applied for federal funding for additional buses. If the state
superintendent finds that a need exists, a request for funding
shall be included in the budget request submitted by the state
board for the upcoming fiscal year;
and
(4) Aid in lieu of transportation equal to the state average
amount per pupil for each pupil receiving the aid within each county;
and
(5) For the fiscal year 2009, and for each fiscal year after
that, $15,000 to each county for transporting students to school
related activities located within the state, if approval for the
travel is obtained in advance from the superintendent of schools of
the county requesting the funds or his or her designee. Any funds
not allocated in accordance with this subdivision prior to June 30
of each fiscal year are forfeited.
(b) The total state share for this purpose shall be the sum of
the county shares:
Provided, That
no a county
shall may not
receive an allowance which is greater than one-third above the
computed state average allowance per transportation mile multiplied
by the total transportation mileage in the county exclusive of the
allowance for the purchase additional buses.
(c) One half of one percent of the transportation allowance
distributed to each county shall be for the purpose of trips
related to academic classroom curriculum and not related to any
extracurricular activity. Any remaining funds credited to a county
for the purpose of trips related to academic classroom curriculum
during the fiscal year shall be carried over for use in the same
manner the next fiscal year and shall be separate and apart from,
and in addition to, the appropriation for the next fiscal year.
The state board may request a county to document the use of funds
for trips related to academic classroom curriculum if the board determines that it is necessary.
(d) The amendments made to this section during the 2008
regular session of the Legislature are intended to be temporary
while the transportation issue is further studied during the
2008-2009 interim period.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allocate $15,000 to each
county to be used for transporting students to school related
activities within the state; requires approval in advance from
superintendent of schools for the county making the request;
forfeiture of unused funds.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.