0545 Interim Committee on School Finance
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Colorado Legislative Council Research All Publications Publications 12-2005 0545 Interim Committee on School Finance Colorado Legislative Council Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/colc_all Recommended Citation Colorado Legislative Council, "0545 Interim Committee on School Finance" (2005). All Publications. 578. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/colc_all/578 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Colorado Legislative Council Research Publications at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Publications by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Interim Committee on School Finance Report to the COLORADO Colorado Legislative Council Research Publication No. 545 GENERAL ASSEMBLY December 2005 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2006 Report to the Colorado General Assembly Research Publication No. 545 December 2005 COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald. Chairman Sen. Norma Anderson Rep. Andrew Romanoff, Vice Chairman Sen. Peter Groff Sen. Ken Gordon Sen. Steve Johnson Sen. Andy McElhany Sen. Ron Teck Rep. Alice Madden Sen. Ron Tupa Rep. Joe Stengel Sen. Sue Windels Rep. Dorothy Butcher STAFF Rep. Bill Cadman Kirk Mlinek, Director Rep. Mike Garcia Daniel Chapman, Assistant Director. Rep. Diane Hoppe Administration LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Rep. Mike May Deborah Godshall. Assistant Director, Rep. Angie Paccione Research ROOM 029 STATE CAPITOL DENVER, COLORADO 80203-1784 E-mail: [email protected] 303-866-3521 FAX: 303-866-3855 TDD: 303-866-3472 December 2005 To Members of the Sixty-fifth General Assembly: Submitted herewith is the final report of the Interim Committee on School Finance. This committee was created pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 05-047. The purpose of the committee is to study the funding for students in public schools statewide. At its meeting on November 15,2005, the Legislative Council reviewed the report of this committee. A motion to forward this report and the bills herein for consideration in the 2006 session was approved. Respectfully submitted, Is1 Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald Chairman TABLEOF CONTENTS PAGE ... LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL ........................................ 111 TABLEOFCONTENTS ............................................. v RECOMMENDED BILLS AND FISCAL NOTES ........................ vii MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ....................................ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................. xi Committeecharge ...............................................xi ............................................. Committee Activities xi... Committee Recommendations .....................................xi11 STATUTORY AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES ................... 1 . COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES ........................................... 3 Background and History of Colorado School Finance .................... 3 Determinations of Adequacy in School Funding ........................ 4 Tax Issues and Constitutional Constraints ............................. 6 K-12 Capital Construction ......................................... 7 School Trust Lands and the Permanent School Fund ................... 10 Categorical Funding ............................................. 11 SchoolChoice ................................................. 12 P- 16 Education System .......................................... 14 Additional Committee Activities ................................... 14 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................... 17 Bill A .Special Education Funding .............................. 17 Bill B .Authorization of Additional School District Revenues to Fund Costs Associated with Full-Day Kindergarten Programs ....... 17 BillC -- StateSchoolLands ..................................... 17 Bill D .Technical Revisions to Provisions Affecting Funding for Certain Charterschools ....................................... 18 Bill E .Study of an Education System Ranging from Pre-Kindergarten through Higher Education, and, in connection therewith, Creating a Legislative Oversight Committee and Special Council ....... 18 RESOURCE MATERIALS ........................................... 19 Meetingsummaries ............................................. 19 Staff Memoranda and Reports ..................................... 20 APPENDIX A Final Report of the School Finance Task Force ........................ 97 PAGE Bill A -- Concerning Special Education Funding .......................... 21 --- FiscalNote ............................................... 35 Bill B .Concerning the Authorization of Additional School District Revenues to Fund Costs Associated with Full-Day Kindergarten Programs ...... 39 -- FiscalNote ................................................ 47 Bill C -- Concerning State School Lands ................... :............ 49 -- FiscalNote ................................................ 59 Bill D .Concerning Technical Revisions to Provisions Affecting Funding for Certain Charter Schools ...................................... 65 -- FiscalNote ................................................ 77 Bill E . Concerning the Study of an Education System Ranging from Pre-Kindergarten through Higher Education. and. in connection therewith. Creating a Legislative Oversight Committee and Special Council ................................................... 79 - FiscalNote ................................................ 93 Members of the Committee Senator Sue Windels Representative Michael Menifield Chair Vice-Chair Senator Norma Anderson Representative Debbie Benefield Senator Bob Bacon Representative Keith King Senator Nancy Spence Representative Josh Penry Senator Ron Tupa Representative Jack Pornmer Legislative Council Staff Cathy Eslinger Jennifer Thomsen Senior Analyst I1 Research Associate Deb Godshall Josh Harwood Assistant Director, Research Economist III Chris Ward Principal Fiscal Analyst Office of Legislative Legal Services Julie Pelegrin Christy Chase Senior Attorney Senior Staff Attorney Nicole Hoffinan Jane Ritter Senior Staff Attorney Staff Attorney Esther van Mourik Staff Attorney Committee Charge Pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 05-047, the Interim Committee on School Finance was charged with studying the funding for students in public schools statewide, analyzing the needs of public school facilities throughout the state, and determining funding factors and formulas that should be adopted to ensure that all students in public schools in the state are receiving a thorough and uniform education in a safe and effective learning environment. The committee was directed to consider issues including, but not limited to: the impact of recent education reforms on the ability of school districts and the state to meet their legal and constitutional obligations with respect to public education; whether there are any legislative or constitutional barriers working in concert with the current school finance act that have created difficulties for school districts or the state to meet their obligations; the components of a new school finance act that would maximize the ability of school districts and the state to meet their constitutional obligations; whether the current system by which school districts pay for capital facility needs is thorough and uniform; whether the state needs to adopt state standards for public school facilities; and the methods by which school districts account, under the chart of accounts, for the allocation of moneys to the schools within the districts. A 16-member School Finance Task Force was appointed to assist the committee in its work. The task force was directed to attend meetings ofthe committee, makepresentations, and provide written and oral comments and other relevant data to the committee. Committee Activities The committee held six meetings during the 2005 interim. The first meeting was held jointly with the School Finance Task Force. At this joint meeting, task force members and legislative staff provided an overview of school finance within a national context, reviewed the history of the current school finance law, and examined Colorado judicial guidance and rulings on school finance. Representatives of the task force further provided perspectives concerning adequate education funding and mandates for universal student proficiency. The joint meeting of the committee and task force culminated in the issuance of a committee charge to the task force. Following the joint meeting, the task force met separately to prepare its report to the committee; however, many task force members continued to attend and provide information at the committee's subsequent meetings as requested. The task force presented a final report to the committee that included its guiding principles, recommendations, and a review of potential revenue sources and issues for consideration by the General Assembly. The committee's remaining five meetings included a variety of presentations by staff and by representatives of the Colorado Department of Education, the task force, and other interested parties. These presentations provided background information for the committee and raised issues for its consideration. The presentations and discussions covered many areas pertaining to funding, including: factors impacting the state and local share of K-12 funding; components of a new school finance act; school districts' ability to meet state and federal mandates; state categorical