Senate Bill No. 483

(By Senators Snyder and Unger)

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[Introduced February 11, 2003; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the public school support allowance for increased enrollment.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.

§18-9A-15. Allowance for increased enrollment.
To provide for the support of increased net enrollments in the counties in a school year over the net enrollments used in the computation of total state aid for that year, there shall be appropriated for that purpose from the general revenue fund an amount equal to the average total state aid per net pupil multiplied by the total of all of the increases in the net enrollments of the counties made by comparing the most recent reports of net enrollment for the second school month to the immediately previous year's reports for the same school month.
Upon determination of the several increases in the respective counties' net enrollments, as of the close of the second school month, each county showing such the increase shall be allocated an amount equal to that county's average per net pupil total state aid multiplied by the increase in that county's net enrollment determined as provided heretofore. Such The allocations shall be distributed not later than the thirty-first day of December of each year to the counties having increases in net enrollment as heretofore provided. If the amount appropriated for this purpose shall not be sufficient to provide payment in full for the total of these several allocations, each county allocation shall be reduced to an amount which is proportionate to the appropriation compared to the total of the several allocations, and the allocations as thus adjusted shall be distributed to the counties as provided in this section: Provided, That the governor shall request a supplemental appropriation at the next legislative session for the reduced amount.
No provision of this section shall may be construed to in any way affect the allocation of moneys for educational purposes to a county under other provisions of law.
Except for those students who are enrolled in special education programs, students who have not attained the age of five prior to the first day of September shall not be included for any purpose of this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any specific level of funding by the Legislature.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make the public school support allowance for increased enrollment mandatory.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.