257.31 - DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.
257.31 DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.
1. The school budget review committee may recommend the revision
of any rules, regulations, directives, or forms relating to school
district budgeting and accounting, confer with local school boards or
their representatives and make recommendations relating to any
budgeting or accounting matters, and direct the director of the
department of education or the director of the department of
management to make studies and investigations of school costs in any
school district.
2. The committee shall specify the number of hearings held
annually, the reasons for the committee's recommendations,
information about the amounts of property tax levied by school
districts for a cash reserve, and other information the committee
deems advisable on the department of education's internet website.
3. The committee shall review the proposed budget and certified
budget of each school district, and may make recommendations. The
committee may make decisions affecting budgets to the extent provided
in this chapter. The costs and computations referred to in this
section relate to the budget year unless otherwise expressly stated.
4. Not later than January 1, 1992, the committee shall adopt
recommendations relating to the implementation by school districts
and area education agencies of procedures pertaining to the
preparation of financial reports in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles and submit those recommendations to
the state board of education. The state board shall consider the
recommendations and adopt rules under section 256.7 specifying
procedures and requiring the school districts and area education
agencies to conform to generally accepted accounting principles
commencing with the school year beginning July 1, 1996.
5. If a district has unusual circumstances, creating an unusual
need for additional funds, including but not limited to the following
circumstances, the committee may grant supplemental aid to the
district from any funds appropriated to the department of education
for the use of the school budget review committee for the purposes of
this subsection, and such aid shall be miscellaneous income and shall
not be included in district cost, or may establish a modified
allowable growth for the district by increasing its allowable growth,
or both:
a. Any unusual increase or decrease in enrollment.
b. Unusual natural disasters.
c. Unusual initial staffing problems.
d. The closing of a nonpublic school, wholly or in part, or
the opening or closing of a pilot charter school.
e. Substantial reduction in miscellaneous income due to
circumstances beyond the control of the district.
f. Unusual necessity for additional funds to permit
continuance of a course or program which provides substantial benefit
to pupils.
g. Unusual need for a new course or program which will
provide substantial benefit to pupils, if the district establishes
the need and the amount of necessary increased cost.
h. Unusual need for additional funds for special education or
compensatory education programs.
i. Year-round or substantially year-round attendance programs
which apply toward graduation requirements, including but not limited
to trimester or four-quarter programs. Enrollment in such programs
shall be adjusted to reflect equivalency to normal school year
attendance.
j. Unusual need to continue providing a program or other
special assistance to non-English speaking pupils after the
expiration of the four-year period specified in section 280.4.
k. Circumstances caused by unusual demographic
characteristics.
l. Any unique problems of school districts.
m. The addition of one or more teacher librarians pursuant to
section 256.11, subsection 9, one or more guidance counselors
pursuant to section 256.11, subsection 9A, or one or more school
nurses pursuant to section 256.11, subsection 9B.
n. Unusual need for additional funds for the costs associated
with providing competent private instruction pursuant to chapter
299A.
6. a. The committee shall establish a modified allowable
growth for a district by increasing its allowable growth when the
district submits evidence that it requires additional funding for
removal, management, or abatement of environmental hazards due to a
state or federal requirement. Environmental hazards shall include
but are not limited to the presence of asbestos, radon, or the
presence of any other hazardous material dangerous to health and
safety.
b. The district shall include a budget for the actual cost of
the project that may include the costs of inspection, reinspection,
sampling, analysis, assessment, response actions, operations and
maintenance, training, periodic surveillance, developing of
management plans, recordkeeping requirements, and encapsulation or
removal of the hazardous material.
7. a. The committee may authorize a district to spend a
reasonable and specified amount from its unexpended cash balance for
the following purposes:
(1) Furnishing, equipping, and contributing to the construction
of a new building or structure for which the voters of the district
have approved a bond issue as provided by law or the tax levy
provided in section 298.2.
(2) The costs associated with the demolition of an unused school
building, or the conversion of an unused school building for
community use, in a school district involved in a dissolution or
reorganization under chapter 275, if the costs are incurred within
three years of the dissolution or reorganization.
(3) The costs associated with the demolition or repair of a
building or structure in a school district if such costs are
necessitated by, and incurred within two years of, a disaster as
defined in section 29C.2, subsection 1.
b. Other expenditures, including but not limited to
expenditures for salaries or recurring costs, are not authorized
under this subsection. Expenditures authorized under this subsection
shall not be included in allowable growth or district cost, and the
portion of the unexpended cash balance which is authorized to be
spent shall be regarded as if it were miscellaneous income. Any part
of the amount not actually spent for the authorized purpose shall
revert to its former status as part of the unexpended cash balance.
8. The committee may approve or modify the initial base year
district cost of any district which changes accounting procedures.
9. When the committee makes a decision under subsections 3
through 8, it shall make all necessary changes in the district cost,
budget, and tax levy. It shall give written notice of its decision,
including all such changes, to the school board through the
department of education.
10. All decisions by the committee under this chapter shall be
made in accordance with reasonable and uniform policies which shall
be consistent with this chapter. All such policies of general
application shall be stated in rules adopted in accordance with
chapter 17A. The committee shall take into account the intent of
this chapter to equalize educational opportunity, to provide a good
education for all the children of Iowa, to provide property tax
relief, to decrease the percentage of school costs paid from property
taxes, and to provide reasonable control of school costs. The
committee shall also take into account the amount of funds available.
11. Failure by any school district to provide information or
appear before the committee as requested for the accomplishment of
review or hearing is justification for the committee to instruct the
director of the department of management to withhold any state aid to
that district until the committee's inquiries are satisfied
completely.
12. The committee shall review the recommendations of the
director of the department of education relating to the special
education weighting plan, and shall establish a weighting plan for
each school year pursuant to section 256B.9, and report the plan to
the director of the department of education.
13. The committee may recommend that two or more school districts
jointly employ and share the services of any school personnel, or
acquire and share the use of classrooms, laboratories, equipment, and
facilities as specified in section 280.15.
14. As soon as possible following June 30 of the base year, the
school budget review committee shall determine for each school
district the balance of funds, whether positive or negative, raised
for special education instruction programs under the special
education weighting plan established in section 256B.9. The
committee shall certify the balance of funds for each school district
to the director of the department of management.
a. If the amount certified for a school district to the
director of the department of management under this subsection for
the base year is positive, the director of the department of
management shall subtract the amount of the positive balance
exceeding ten percent of the additional funds generated for special
education, not to include any previous carryover, from the amount of
state aid remaining to be paid to the district during the budget
year. If the positive amount exceeding the ten percent amount
exceeds the amount of state aid that remains to be paid to the
district, not including any previous carryover, the school district
shall pay the excess on a quarterly basis prior to June 30 of the
budget year to the director of the department of management from
other funds received by the district. The director of the department
of management shall determine the amount of the positive balance that
exceeds the ten percent amount that came from local property tax
revenues and shall increase the district's total state school aids
available under this chapter for the next following budget year by
the amount so determined and shall reduce the district's tax levy
computed under section 257.4 for the next following budget year by
the amount necessary to compensate for the increased state aid.
b. (1) If the amount certified for a school district to the
director of the department of management under this subsection for
the base year is negative, the director of the department of
management shall determine the amount of the deficit that would have
been state aid and the amount that would have been property taxes for
each eligible school district.
(2) There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to
the school budget review committee for each fiscal year an amount
equal to the state aid portion of five percent of the receipts for
special education instruction programs in all districts that has a
positive balance determined under paragraph "a" for the base
year, or the state aid portion of all of the positive balances
determined under paragraph "a" for the base year, whichever is
less, to be used for supplemental aid payments to school districts.
Except as otherwise provided in this lettered paragraph, supplemental
aid paid to a district is equal to the state aid portion of the
district's negative balance. The school budget review committee
shall direct the director of the department of management to make the
payments to school districts under this lettered paragraph.
(3) A school district is only eligible to receive supplemental
aid payments during the budget year if the school district certifies
to the school budget review committee that for the year following the
budget year it will notify the school budget review committee to
instruct the director of the department of management to increase the
district's allowable growth and will fund the allowable growth
increase either by using moneys from its unexpended cash balance to
reduce the district's property tax levy or by using cash reserve
moneys to equal the amount of the deficit that would have been
property taxes and any part of the state aid portion of the deficit
not received as supplemental aid under this subsection. The director
of the department of management shall make the necessary adjustments
to the school district's budget to provide the modified allowable
growth and shall make the supplemental aid payments.
(4) If the amount appropriated under this lettered paragraph is
insufficient to make the supplemental aid payments under this
subsection, the director of the department of management shall
prorate the payments on the basis of the amount appropriated.
15. Annually the school budget review committee shall review the
amount of property tax levied by each school district for the cash
reserve authorized in section 298.10. If in the committee's
judgment, the amount of a district's cash reserve levy is
unreasonably high, the committee shall instruct the director of the
department of management to reduce that district's tax levy computed
under section 257.4 for the following budget year by the amount the
cash reserve levy is deemed excessive. A reduction in a district's
property tax levy for a budget year under this subsection does not
affect the district's authorized budget.
16. The committee shall perform the duties assigned to it under
sections 257.32 and 260C.18B.
17. a. If a district's average transportation costs per pupil
exceed the state average transportation costs per pupil determined
under paragraph "c" by one hundred fifty percent, the committee
may grant transportation assistance aid to the district. Such aid
shall be miscellaneous income and shall not be included in district
cost.
b. To be eligible for transportation assistance aid, a school
district shall annually certify its actual cost for all children
transported in all school buses not later than July 31 after each
school year on forms prescribed by the committee.
c. A district's average transportation costs per pupil shall
be determined by dividing the district's actual cost for all children
transported in all school buses for a school year pursuant to section
285.1, subsection 12, less the amount received for transporting
nonpublic school pupils under section 285.1, by the district's actual
enrollment for the school year excluding the shared-time enrollment
for the school year as defined in section 257.6. The state average
transportation costs per pupil shall be determined by dividing the
total actual costs for all children transported in all districts for
a school year, by the total of all districts' actual enrollments for
the school year.
d. Funds transferred to the committee in accordance with
section 321.34, subsection 22, are appropriated to and may be
expended for the purposes of the committee, as described in this
section. However, highest priority shall be given to districts that
meet the conditions described in this subsection. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Code, unencumbered or unobligated funds
transferred to the committee pursuant to section 321.34, subsection
22, remaining on June 30 of the fiscal year for which the funds were
transferred, shall not revert but shall be available for expenditure
for the purposes of this subsection in subsequent fiscal years.
18. If a school district exceeds its authorized budget or carries
a negative unspent balance for two or more consecutive years, the
committee may recommend that the department implement a phase II
on-site visit to conduct a fiscal review pursuant to section 256.11,
subsection 10, paragraph "b", subparagraph (1), subparagraph
division (e). Section History: Recent Form
89 Acts, ch 135, § 31; 91 Acts, ch 267, §520; 93 Acts, ch 101, §
202; 94 Acts, ch 1175, §3; 96 Acts, ch 1088, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1215,
§22; 97 Acts, ch 23, §26; 2003 Acts, ch 79, §4, 7, 8; 2006 Acts, ch
1152, §25; 2006 Acts, ch 1182, §41, 54; 2007 Acts, ch 42, §2; 2007
Acts, ch 108, §8; 2008 Acts, ch 1191, §109; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263;
2009 Acts, ch 54, §6; 2009 Acts, ch 65, §4; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §190,
250
Referred to in § 256.11, 256C.4, 257.6, 257.8, 257.13, 257.30,
257.32, 321.34 Footnotes
2006 amendment to subsection 5, paragraph j, takes effect June 1,
2006, and applies to the school budget year beginning July 1, 2006,
and succeeding budget years; 2006 Acts, ch 1182, §54