HBA-NRS H.B. 2954 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2954
By: Hardcastle
Public Education
4/9/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Small schools suffer from a diseconomy of scale in relation to cost per
student because of the high cost of operating very small classes. Small
school districts receive an adjustment in their basic allotment, but this
may not be sufficient funding in relation to the needs of schools that are
under 400 students in average daily attendance. House Bill 2954 provides a
new formula for adjusting the allotment of school districts with under 400
students in average daily attendance. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2954 amends the Education Code to provide that the basic
allotment of a school district that has no more than 400 students in
average daily attendance (ADA) is adjusted by applying the formula that, of
the following formulas, results in the greatest adjusted allotment: 

_the formula for a school district that contains at least 300 square miles
and an ADA of not more than 1,600 students; 

_the formula adjusting the basic allotment for a school district that
contains less than 300 square miles and an ADA of not more than 1,600
students; 

_the formula adjusting the basic allotment of a school district that offers
a kindergarten through grade 12 program and has an ADA of less than 5,000
students; or 

_AA = ( 1 + ( ( 400 - ADA ) X .0025 ) ) * ABA, where "AA" is the adjusted
allotment and "ABA" is the adjusted basic allotment. 

The bill deletes formulas dependent upon the particular school year for a
district that offers kindergarten through grade 12 and has less than 5,000
students in ADA and applies the formula for the 2000-2001 school year. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.