LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
February 13, 2001
TO: Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair, Senate Committee on
Education
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: SB165 by Madla (Relating to reimbursement for the costs
of transportation of a student to a magnet school.), As
Introduced
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* SB165, As Introduced: negative impact of $(6,000,000) through the *
* biennium ending August 31, 2003. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
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General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2002 $(3,000,000) *
* 2003 (3,000,000) *
* 2004 (3,000,000) *
* 2005 (3,000,000) *
* 2006 (3,000,000) *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
*****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from *
* Foundation School Fund *
* 0193 *
* 2002 $(3,000,000) *
* 2003 (3,000,000) *
* 2004 (3,000,000) *
* 2005 (3,000,000) *
* 2006 (3,000,000) *
*****************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
This bill amends the current definition of a "regular eligible student"
for purposes of regular transportation funding under the Foundation
School Program. It adds the qualification "including a magnet school
campus" in the description of the campus from which a student must reside
two or more miles from in order to be an eligible rider for funding
under the state aid formula for transportation.
The effect is to make route mileage incurred in transporting students to
magnet schools part of the eligible population used in computing the
linear density grouping for a school district when the student lives
more than two miles from the magnet school to which the student has been
assigned. Under current funding guidelines, transportation of a student
that voluntarily transfers to attend school at a campus located in
another attendance zone or school district is not eligible for
transportation allotment purposes.
Methodology
This fiscal note is based on information provided by the Texas Education
Agency (TEA).
TEA believes there are at least two significant factors to address in
developing this estimate. First, there is no statutory or rule-based
definition for a "magnet" school. Second, TEA no longer reviews and
approves routes, and does not have specific rule-making authority for
transportation services.
Transportation for desegregation purposes, which frequently involves
magnet schools, has historically been eligible for funding.
Transportation for career and technology and other special programs,
sometimes because the program is unavailable at the student's assigned
campus, can also involve magnet schools. The desegregation component of
regular transportation, an analogous purpose to voluntary, magnet
schools, had total annual miles of 10.4 million in 1999-2000, involving
about 28,500 students, at a cost of about $10.7 million under the
formulas. Career and technology transportation services, which generally
moves students during the day from a regularly assigned campus to a
separate campus or work site, totaled 4.3 million miles in 1999-2000.
Reports from districts indicate that transportation services reports may
not have been consistent with regard to the treatment of possible magnet
school transportation. Because desegregation-related magnet schools have
been funded under the formulas, some districts may already have reported
magnet schools that are not intended to address desegregation
requirements.
With the variety of issues expressed above in mind, TEA staff estimate
that the additional cost to the state to authorize transportation of
students who voluntarily enroll in magnet schools not related to
desegregation could initially be between $1 million and $5 million per
year. The midpoint value of $3 million is used for the cost estimate.
Local Government Impact
School districts should experience additional revenue from the state as a
result of the bill. Because additional mileage and students could
affect the linear density grouping for some districts, there could be an
impact on an individual district's funding rate that might offset gains
from the additional eligible mileage.
Source Agencies: 701 Texas Education Agency
LBB Staff: JK, CT, PF, RN