2012 Governor's K-12 Budget Proposal
Friday, January 13, 2012
One of four principles that Governor Brewer states in crafting her budget proposal is that “spending decisions must respect the wishes of citizens who, in voting for Proposition 100, recognized the importance of funding for education, health care and public safety.”
Fiscal Year 2012: the current school year (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012)
Fiscal Year 2013: the 2012-2013 school year (July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013)
Soft Capital & K-12 Rollover Debt
- $200 million for soft capital (short-term capital items like software, classroom supplies, library materials, computers, etc.). Note, $100 million of this is technically to pay down part of the K-12 rollover.
If fully funded in fiscal year 2013, the soft capital formula would generate $208 million statewide. However, with the current reductions in place, school districts are currently set to receive roughly 10% of the formula amount ($20 million) which is slightly less than $22 per student. Governor Brewer’s $200 million recommendation includes $100 million in the base soft capital allocation and $100 million in onetime funding. The base increase will be ongoing and will retire $100 million in deferred payments each fiscal year, beginning in fiscal year 2013, until the K-12 rollover is paid in full.
CORL
- $35 million increase to capital outlay revenue limit (CORL) in order to backfill the loss of federal Education Jobs Act funding.
- An additional $40 million for CORL and charter school additional assistance for preventative maintenance.
Move on When Reading
- $50 million increase in the K-8 “Group A” weight. (The elementary weight will increase from 1.158 to 1.179.)
This increased funding is to be used only on programs and services that align with A.R.S. 15-701 in grades K-3. It can be used for reading specialists and for development and implementation of comprehensive curriculum, intervention and remediation programs in grades K-3. These funds should be used to identify students who are not on track to pass the third grade standards and intervene well before third grade, when they are at risk of retention.
Building Renewal
- $100 million statewide grant program for fiscal year 2012 (current school year).
Part of a three-year program to pay for critical projects throughout the state through fiscal year 2015.
- Eliminate the current Building Renewal formula and replace it with an inventory-based system ($933,500).
The School Facilities Board will create and maintain a detailed database of all major school systems and replace each system according to a replacement schedule. School districts will be required to use the system in order to receive Building Renewal grants.
- $871,400 to the School Facilities Board to pay for staff to train districts on effective preventative maintenance and to inspect all Building Renewal grant requests.
K-12 Capital
- Increase local district bonding capacity to return it to half of the bonding capacity that existed prior to the creation of Students’ FIRST/School Facilities Board in 1998.
Currently the secondary assessed value for elementary and high school districts is 5%. This proposal would increase it to 10%. Likewise for a unified district the capacity would increase from 10% to 20%.
- Replace the current New School Construction formula so that excess space at nearby schools outside of the district is included.
The School Facilities Board would then project enrollment, determine which districts have insufficient space within their boundaries, divide each of those districts into four quadrants, select the highest growth quadrant, and draw a 10-mile radius from the center point of the quadrant. Available space within the radius will count toward meeting the minimum space guidelines for the district.
Arizona Education Learning & Accountability System (AELAS)
- $5.1 million to the Arizona Department of Education to continue to fund the new statewide data system for K-12 and postsecondary education.
School Safety
- $500,000 to the Arizona Department of Education to coordinate with the State Board of Education to develop a database that will provide a mechanism to search educator information such as certification and disciplinary information.
- $186,500 for two additional investigator positions at the State Board of Education’s Investigative Unit (those who investigate allegations of immoral or unprofessional conduct made against certified personnel).
Career Ladder Reduction
- $9 million decrease to basic state aid for the phase-down of the Career Ladder program.
Originally proposed at 5.5% increase in funding, the increase was limited to 4% for fiscal year 2012 (the current school year). The Career Ladder program is phased down to 3% for fiscal year 2013, 2% in fiscal year 2014, 1% in fiscal year 2015, and completely eliminated in fiscal year 2016.
English Language Learners (ELL)
- Transfer $5.5 million from the Structured English Immersion (SEI) Fund to the English Learner Administration SLI for development and administration of the AZELLA 3.
Basic State Aid
- Reduction of $70.6 million in basic state aid for changes in average daily membership (ADM) and net assessed valuations. This includes a (1.9%) decline in ADM and a (6.5%) decline in net assessed valuations from the fiscal year 2012 appropriated amount.
