Bill Text: WV HCR95 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Interim study on public school finance
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 11-6)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-07 - To House Rules [HCR95 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2019-HCR95-Introduced.html
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 95
(By Delegates Hamrick, Atkinson, Bibby, Cooper, Dean, Doyle, Estep-Burton, Evans, Hanna, Higginbotham, Hornbuckle, Jennings, J. Kelly, Rohrbach, R. Thompson, Toney and Zukoff)
[Originating in the Committee on Education; Reported on March 6, 2019]
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to conduct an interim study on public school finance.
Whereas, State programs for financing public schools generally consist of: (1) A basic foundation amount necessary for school staffing, programs and operations for which the responsibility is allocated between the local school district based on the district’s relative wealth and state aid to close the gap; (2) Additional state appropriated funding or “categorical funds” restricted for specific programmatic and other purposes and for facilities improvement; and (3) Federal funds expended in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and associated federal regulations; and
Whereas, States typically adjust the foundation amounts of the various districts to reflect certain high cost variances such as differences in regional costs, disproportionately large or small districts, high poverty areas and isolated schools or districts; and
Whereas, Many states provide for transportation funding separately from other educational costs, often through a separate formula, because the per pupil costs for transportation are impacted by factors that do not affect other school expenses and can vary greatly from district to district; and
Whereas, School funding formulas are often viewed as overly complex sequences of computations and rules comprehensible to only the handful of personnel steeped in school finance but it is none the less important for policymakers to recognize how the formulas can either restrict or accommodate policy changes, adequately adjust for the increasingly diverse financial circumstances and needs among the state’s school systems and facilitate innovation; therefore be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to conduct an interim study on public school finance; and be it
Further Resolved, That a report of the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the study, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate the recommendations be reported to the Legislature at its 2020 Regular Session; and be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and draft necessary legislation are requested to be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
