1. Leanne Emm, Associate Commissioner School Finance Division
School Finance CASBO
Leanne Emm, Associate Commissioner
School Finance Division
April 2015

2. Agenda BEST Program Rulemaking Hearing – May 13 Total Program
Other Legislation 2

3. BEST Program Legislation/Budget
Funding to upgrade/revise the statewide facility assessment database
Funding for in-house team to do facility assessments and upgrades to the system to allow for interfaces with districts that do their own facility assessments
Provide a refresh rate for the statewide facility assessment of approximately 2.5 years

4. BEST Program
Marijuana Excise Tax – tax on the transfer from grower to retailer
Amendment 64
Provides for the first $40 million annually of excise tax to be deposited to the Capital Construction Fund
Through February 28, 2015 – almost $13 million
Once funds are deposited to Capital Construction Fund, the dollars are available for BEST grants
Marijuana Sales Tax – tax on retail sales
Through February 28, 2015 – $25 million
Funds distributed to counties, cities, and used for state programs
$2.5 million for grants for school health professionals – due May 7 4

5. Public Comment Period Rules
Accounting Rules
Requires the Food Service Fund to be treated as a Special Revenue Fund
Aligns with the FPP adoption of the recommendation
Clarifies language in rules
Defines the three month operating rule being based on nine month year
Removes requirement to keep 30 percent threshold in reserves before charging indirect costs
May charge directly, however cannot exceed the indirect cost rate
Addresses other provisions noted in state statutes

6. Public Comment Period Rules
Nutrition Rules
Removes duplicative rules if already in federal regulations
Clarifies language in rules
Aligns nutrition and accounting rules
Submit written comments for either rules prior to May
Rulemaking hearing – May 13 – State Board Room

7. Total Program Funding Formula
Total Program Funding equals: =(funded pupil count x formula per pupil funding) + at-risk funding + online & ASCENT funding After Total Program is calculated, the Negative Factor is Applied

8. Base Per Pupil Funding 2014-15 Base Funding - $6,121.00 2015-16
Increase of $166.72
Inflation of 2.8%
Base Funding - $6,292.39
Increase of $171.39

9. Formula Per Pupil Funding - Factors
Base per pupil funding is adjusted by factors
Cost of Living
Personnel & Non-personnel costs
Size of district
Determine At-Risk Funding, On-line and ASCENT Funding
Once Total Program is determined, the negative factor is applied
– 12.97%
Once the base funding has been set, the base has factors applied. These factors determine the per pupil funding amount by district and each district is different.
Cost of living – factor that attempts to reflect the differences between districts for the cost of housing, goods and services. Aspen has a higher cost of living factor than a small rural district.
Personnel costs factor – based on enrollment and incorporates cost of living for personnel.
Size factor – driven by enrollment and attempts to reflect purchasing power within districts. Small districts have greater size factor adjustments.
At-risk funding – based on the numbers of students qualifying for free lunches
On-Line funding – based on the number of students enrolled in an online program within the district. There are various rules that make a student eligible to be counted.
Once these factors are applied to the base, a total per pupil funding amount is determined for district. This amount is then multiplied by the districts funded pupil count to arrive at total program funding.

10. The School Finance Act is funded with a combination of State General Fund; local funds including property tax and specific ownership tax and other state funds which include the State Education Fund and the Public School Fund.

11. Illustration of Two Districts11

12. Assumptions FY2015-16 Long Bill Plus SB15-267
Every year, the School Finance Act is a piece of legislation that is brought forward to fund schools in the next budget year
Fund growth and inflation
Increase in local share
One-time buydown of negative factor - $25 million
HB as introduced, requires the negative factor amount to remain the same as prior year
Estimate of negative factor for = $855 million

13. State of Colorado Total Program Funding
*Subject to Legislative Approval

14. SB15-267 School Finance Act Has passed the senate on second reading
Senate 3rd reading then on to the house
Resources on CDE Website
Legislative Summary
Illustration of District by District Funding
May 6 is last day of session

15. Other Legislation HB15-1339 – Transparency – Reporting of Expenditures
Based on Financial Policies and Procedures Committee recommendation to submit school level expenditure data to CDE through pipeline financial submissions instead of posting it on each district’s website
Third party vendor will compile and publish comparable data per statute
HB – Legislative Committee to Study School Finance

16. FPP Meeting May 29 – 9:30 – noon Jeffco Swink
Mesa Valley (Grand Junction)
Durango
Centennial BOCES (Greeley)
San Luis Valley BOCES (Alamosa)
Pikes Peak BOCES (Colorado Springs)

17. School Finance Questions CASB