79-1241.03 Distribution of funds; certification by department to educational service unit and learning community; distribution.
79-1241.03. Distributionof funds; certification by department to educational service unit and learningcommunity; distribution.(1) Two percentof the funds appropriated for core services and technology infrastructureshall be transferred to the Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council.The remainder of such funds shall be distributed pursuant to subsections (2)through (6) of this section.(2)(a) The distance education and telecommunications allowancefor each educational service unit shall equal eighty-five percent of the differenceof the costs for telecommunications services, for access to data transmissionnetworks that transmit data to and from the educational service unit, andfor the transmission of data on such networks paid by the educational serviceunit as reported on the annual financial report for the most recently availablecomplete data year minus the receipts from the federal Universal Service Fundpursuant to 47 U.S.C. 254, as such section existed on January 1, 2007, forthe educational service unit as reported on the annual financial report forthe most recently available complete data year and minus any receipts fromschool districts or other educational entities for payment of such costs asreported on the annual financial report of the educational service unit.(b) The base allocation of each educational service unitshall equal two and one-half percent of the funds appropriated for distributionpursuant to this section.(c) The satellite office allocation for each educationalservice unit shall equal one percent of the funds appropriated for distributionpursuant to this section for each office of the educational service unit,except the educational service unit headquarters, up to the maximum numberof satellite offices. The maximum number of satellite offices used for thecalculation of the satellite office allocation for any educational serviceunit shall equal the difference of the ratio of the number of square mileswithin the boundaries of the educational service unit divided by four thousandminus one with the result rounded to the closest whole number.(d) The statewide adjusted valuation shall equal the totaladjusted valuation for all member districts of educational service units pursuantto section 79-1016 used for the calculation of state aid for school districtspursuant to the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act for theschool fiscal year for which the distribution is being calculated pursuantto this section.(e) The adjusted valuation for each educational service unitshall equal the total adjusted valuation of the member school districts pursuantto section 79-1016 used for the calculation of state aid for school districtspursuant to the act for the school fiscal year for which the distributionis being calculated pursuant to this section, except that such adjusted valuationfor member school districts that are also member districts of a learning communityshall be reduced by fifty percent for school fiscal years2008-09 and 2009-10, thirty percent for school fiscal year 2010-11, and tenpercent for each school fiscal year thereafter. The adjusted valuationfor each learning community shall equal fifty percent, for school fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10, thirty percent,for school fiscal year 2010-11, and ten percent, for each school fiscal yearthereafter, of the total adjusted valuation of the member schooldistricts pursuant to section 79-1016 used for the calculation of state aidfor school districts pursuant to the act for the school fiscal year for whichthe distribution is being calculated pursuant to this section.(f) The local effort rate shall equal $0.0135 per one hundreddollars of adjusted valuation.(g) The statewide student allocationshall equal the difference of the sum of the amount appropriated for distributionpursuant to this section plus the product of the statewide adjusted valuationmultiplied by the local effort rate minus the distance education and telecommunicationsallowance, base allocation, and satellite office allocation for all educationalservice units and minus any adjustments required bysubsection (5) of this section.(h) The sparsity adjustment for each educational serviceunit and learning community shall equal the sum of one plus one-tenth of theratio of the square miles within the boundaries of the educational serviceunit divided by the fall membership of the member school districts for theschool fiscal year immediately preceding the school fiscal year for whichthe distribution is being calculated pursuant to this section.(i) The adjusted students for each educational service unitshall equal the fall membership for the school fiscal year immediately precedingthe school fiscal year for which aid is being calculated of the member schooldistricts that will not be members of a learning community and fifty percent, for school fiscal years 2008-09 and2009-10, seventy percent, for school fiscal year 2010-11, and ninety percent,for each school fiscal year thereafter, of the fall membershipfor such school fiscal year of the member school districts that will be membersof a learning community pursuant to this section multiplied by the sparsityadjustment for the educational service unit, and the adjusted students foreach learning community shall equal fifty percent, for school fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10, thirty percent,for school fiscal year 2010-11, and ten percent, for each school fiscal yearthereafter, of the fall membership for such school fiscal yearof the member school districts multiplied by the sparsity adjustment for thelearning community.(j) The per student allocation shall equal the statewidestudent allocation divided by the total adjusted students for all educationalservice units and learning communities.(k) The student allocation for each educational service unitand learning community shall equal the per student allocation multiplied bythe adjusted students for the educational service unit or learning community.(l) The needs for each educational service unit shall equalthe sum of the distance education and telecommunications allowance, base allocation,satellite office allocation, and student allocation for the educational serviceunit and the needs for each learning community shall equal the student allocationfor the learning community.(m) The distribution of core services and technology infrastructurefunds for each educational service unit and learning community shall equalthe needs for each educational service unit or learning community minus theproduct of the adjusted valuation for the educational service unit or learningcommunity multiplied by the local effort rate.(3) If an educational service unit is the result of a mergeror received new member school districts from another educational service unit, the educational service unit shall be considered a new educationalservice unit for purposes of this section. For each new educational serviceunit, the needs minus the distance education and telecommunications allowancefor such new educational service unit shall, for each of the threefiscal years following the fiscal year in which the merger takes place orthe new member school districts are received, equal an amount not less thanthe needs minus the distance education and telecommunicationsallowance for the portions of the educational service units transferred tothe new educational service unit for the fiscal year immediatelypreceding the merger or receipt of new member school districts, except thatif the total amount available to be distributed pursuant to subsections (2)through (6) of this section for the year forwhich needs are being calculated is less than the total amountdistributed pursuant to such subsections for the fiscal year immediately preceding themerger or receipt of new member school districts, the minimum needs minusthe distance education and telecommunications allowance for eacheducational service unit pursuant to this subsection shall be reducedby a percentage equal to the ratio of such difference divided bythe total amount distributed pursuant to subsections (2) through (6)of this section for the fiscal year immediately preceding the merger orreceipt of new member school districts. The needs minus the distance educationand telecommunications allowance for the portions of educational service unitstransferred to the new educational service unit for the fiscalyear immediately preceding a merger or receipt of new member school districts shallequal the needs minus the distance education andtelecommunications allowance calculated for such fiscal year pursuantto subsections (2) through (6)of this section for anyeducational service unit affected by the merger or the transfer of schooldistricts multiplied by a ratio equal to the valuation that was transferredto the new educational service unitfor which the minimum is being calculated divided by the total valuation ofthe educational service unit transferring the territory.(4) For fiscal years 2010-11 through 2013-14, eacheducational service unit shall haveneeds minus the distance education and telecommunications allowance equalto an amount not less than ninety-five percent of the needs minus the distanceeducation and telecommunications allowance for the immediately preceding fiscalyear, except that if the total amount available to be distributedpursuant to subsections (2) through (6)of this section for the year for which needs are being calculated isless than the total amount distributed pursuant to such subsections for the immediately preceding fiscalyear, the minimum needs minus the distance education and telecommunicationsallowance for each educational service unit pursuant to this subsection shall be reduced by a percentageequal to the ratio of such difference divided bythe total amount distributed pursuant to subsections (2) through (6)of this section.(5) If the minimum needs minus the distance education andtelecommunications allowance pursuant to subsection (3) or (4)of this section for any educational service unit exceeds theamount that would otherwise be calculated for sucheducational service unit pursuant to subsection (2) of this section,the statewide student allocation shall be reduced such that the total amountto be distributed pursuant to this section equals the appropriation for coreservices and technology infrastructure funds and no educational service unit has needs minus the distance education and telecommunicationsallowance less than the greater of any minimum amounts calculatedfor such educational service unit pursuant to subsections (3)and (4) of this section.(6) The State Department of Education shall certify the distributionof core services and technology infrastructure funds pursuant to subsections (2) through (6) of this sectionto each educational service unit and learning community on or before July1 of each year for the followingschool fiscal year. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection,any funds appropriated for distribution pursuant to this sectionshall be distributed in ten as nearly as possible equal payments on the firstbusiness day of each month beginning in September of each school fiscal yearand ending in June. Funds tobe distributed to a learning community in school fiscal year 2010-11 shallbe distributed in ten payments on the first business day of each month beginningin September 2010 and ending in June 2011, with each of the first five paymentsequal as nearly as possible to seventeen percent of the amount to be distributedand with each of the last five payments equal as nearly as possible to threepercent of the amount to be distributed. Funds distributed toeducational service units pursuant to this section shall be used for coreservices and technology infrastructure with the approval of representativesof two-thirds of the member school districts of the educational service unit,representing a majority of the adjusted students in the member school districtsused in calculations pursuant to this section for such funds. The valuation of individual school districts shall not beconsidered in the utilization of such core services or technology infrastructurefunds by member school districts for funds received after July 1, 2010. Fundsdistributed to learning communities onor before January 15, 2011, shall be used for learning communitypurposes with the approval of the learning communitycoordinating council. Fundsdistributed to learning communities after January 15, 2011, shall be usedfor evaluation and research pursuant to section 79-2104.02 with the approvalof the learning community coordinating council.(7) Forpurposes of this section, the determination of whether or not a school districtwill be a member of an educational service unit or a learning community shallbe based on the information available May 1 for the following school fiscalyear. SourceLaws 2007, LB603, § 24; Laws 2008, LB1154, § 15; Laws 2009, LB549, § 48; Laws 2010, LB1070, § 11.Effective Date: April 6, 2010 Cross ReferencesTax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, see section 79-1001.