LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE
75th Regular Session
April 3, 1997
TO: Honorable Paul Sadler, Chair IN RE: House Bill No. 2839
Committee on Public Education By: Sadler
House
Austin, Texas
FROM: John Keel, Director
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB2839 ( Relating
to regional education service centers.) this office has detemined
the following:
Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB2839-As Introduced FN Revision 1
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Bill Summary
This bill would reauthorize and redirect the
regional education service centers (ESCs) by amending Chapter
8 of the Texas Education Code. The bill would change the focus
from the provision of "core services" to assisting schools in
improving student performance and enabling schools to operate
more efficiently and economically. It would also provide more
centralization in the management of ESCs and would allocate
more power and authority in this sphere to the commissioner.
It would take effect immediately, except for Section 8.121
dealing with funding, which would take effect September 1, 1997
(existing ESC funding expires on August 31, 1997).
The bill
delineates the following changes:
It would allow the commissioner
(rather than the Texas Education Agency) to establish and operate
a system of regional ESCs and to adopt rules for the membership
of ESC boards (rather than the State Board of Education (SBOE)).
The commissioner would select the number of centers, locations,
boundaries, and the allocation of state and federal funds among
centers (current law limits the number of ESCs to 20). Data
reporting requirements and accountability standards, the minimum
of which are specified in the bill, also would be established
by the commissioner. The board of directors would not be involved
in program planning and evaluation (as they are under current
law) but would be required to adopt a budget after conducting
a public hearing on the center's performance during the preceding
year.
Districts would not be required to purchase services
from ESCs or a specific ESC but be would be free do so from
any of them. In addition to improvement in student performance,
the mission of ESCs would be to help districts operate more
efficiently and economically and to implement initiatives assigned
by the legislature or commissioner.
The bill would exempt
ECSs and their employees from taxation in the same manner as
school districts and their employees. It would also provide
immunity from liability to ESC employees/volunteers to the same
extent as district employees/volunteers. It would allow ESCs
to credit accumulated personal leave by a center employee who
was formerly a state or school district employee (and vice versa).
With the commissioner's approval, ESCs would be able to purchase,
lease, or sell property and acquire debt.
ESCs would have
to submit to the commissioner a yearly improvement plan that
must include services to be provided to low performing campuses
and services to enable districts to operate more economically.
An annual performance evaluation conducted by the commissioner
would include a review of client satisfaction. The commissioner
(rather than the SBOE) would develop a system of sanctions for
ESCs that are deficient in performance.
In the section
outlining the powers of the SBOE with regard to ESCs, the bill
eliminates the role of the SBOE in the adoption of rules for
the ESC board and the receipt and expenditure of grants. Previous
ESC functions consisting of providing "core services," some
reporting requirements, and performance contracting for additional
services to districts are eliminated by the bill.
The commissioner
would fund ESCs based on services provided to improve student
performance, including a minimum allotment and an additional
amount based on number of campuses served. The ESC statewide
total allotment may not be less than .4 percent of the amount
appropriated to the Foundation School Program. The commissioner
would be authorized to establish and allocate an incentive fund
for ESCs to encourage efficiency. Funds for legislative initiatives
and innovative and emergency grants may be appropriated by the
legislature.
Fiscal Analysis
The bill specifies that funding
could not be less than .4 percent of the amount appropriated
to the Foundation School Program (FSP). Assuming that the FSP
appropriation is about $9 billion, the ESC allocation would
not be less than about $36 million, and is estimated to total
approximately $40 to $42 million. Currently, the legislature
appropriates $23 million from the Foundation School Fund (FSF)
for the provision of core services and the general administration
of the centers. Another $17 to $19 million is expended from
other state sources ($11 million from general revenue and $8
million from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund for
the long-range technology plan).
This bill would consolidate
most funding so that it would be allocated from one source in
the FSP. However, it would authorize specific legislative appropriation
from other sources. There would be no net fiscal impact to
the state as a result of this bill.
Administrative Costs to Local Government
This bill is designed
to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the provision
of educational services by school districts by allowing more
district flexibility in their selection of an ESC or other entities
to provide educational services. This could result in a cost
savings to districts, but these costs savings would vary depending
on local choices and are not anticipated to be significant.
The fiscal implications noted above would be likely to
continue beyond 2002.
Source: Agencies: 701 Texas Education Agency - Administration
LBB Staff: JK ,DH ,RR ,GJ