The impact of this bill on equalized funding requirements and policies affecting public education cannot be determined.

Specific impact on equity within the Foundation School Program will depend upon the actions taken at the discretion of local school districts in adopting maintenance and operations levies and the characteristics of districts that make changes in tax levies in response to the change contemplated in this bill.

By way of example, districts that currently levy more than six cents in excess of the local compressed rate were assumed to continue levying the current adopted rate.  Under this assumption, pennies or portions of pennies up to a maximum of eight that are currently equalized and recaptured at a $31.95 yield would be equalized automatically beginning in fiscal year 2014 at $59.97 per penny per student in weighted average daily attendance (WADA) and would not be subject to recapture. 

Based on this assumption in fiscal year 2014, approximately $100.4 million in local revenue would convert under the bill from equalization and recapture at a $31.95 yield to equalization without recapture at a $59.97 yield.  Conversion of  about $84.4 million of the $100.4 million in local revenue, to the higher $59.97 equalization level would produce an additional $90.1 million in state aid for school districts with local yields below both $31.95 and $59.97 and $8.7 million in state aid for charter schools in fiscal year 2014.  The remaining $16.0 million of the $100.4 million in local revenue that would automatically convert is currently subject to recapture at the $319,500 equalized wealth level.  About $9.9 million of this $16.0 million would be retained by districts with local yields below $59.97 rather than being recaptured and would earn $24.7 in new state aid through equalization to $59.97 in fiscal year 2014.  The remaining $6.1 million of the $16.0 million currently subject to recapture is levied by school districts that have local yields above $59.97.  These districts would retain the $6.1 million that would no longer be recaptured under the provisions of the bill but would not receive any additional state aid at the $59.97 yield.  In summary, of the $100.4 million in local revenue that would automatically convert under the bill, about 94% would be equalized and 6% would be unequalized under the provisions of the bill.  However, actual equity implications would vary from this example depending upon the degree to which local decisions concerning maintenance and operations levies are affected and the characteristics of districts making changes in maintenance and operations levies in response to the provisons of the bill.