AB496: Bill Text

LRB-2971/2

PG:jrd:jlb

1995 - 1996 LEGISLATURE

1995 Assembly BILL 496

July 27, 1995 - Introduced by Representatives Baldus, Wilder, Meyer and Bell, cosponsored by Senator Clausing. Referred to Committee on Education.

AB496,1,13 An Act to repeal 115.01 (10) (a) 1., 115.01 (10) (a) 2., 115.01 (10) (b), 119.18 (6) (a), 121.004 (7) (c) 1. a., 121.004 (7) (c) 2., 121.02 (1) (f) 1., 121.05 (3), 121.05 (4) and 121.14; to renumber 121.02 (1) (f) 2.; to renumber and amend 115.01 (10) (a) (intro.) and 121.006 (2) (a); to consolidate, renumber and amend 119.18 (6) (intro.) and (b) and 121.004 (7) (c) 1. (intro.) and b.; to amend 115.28 (18), 115.86 (10) (b), 117.03 (3m), 117.11 (2), 117.12 (2), 117.12 (5) (a) 2., 117.13 (2), 118.04 (4), 119.18 (7), 119.71 (1), 120.12 (15), 120.14 (1), 121.004 (5), 121.004 (7) (a), 121.004 (7) (cm), 121.05 (1) (a) (intro.), 121.05 (1) (a) 8., 121.23 (2) (intro.), 121.58 (4), 121.91 (2m) (a) 1., 121.91 (2m) (a) 4., 121.91 (2m) (b) 1. and 121.91 (2m) (b) 3.; and to create 121.004 (5m), 121.004 (7) (e), 121.004 (7) (f), 121.004 (7) (g), 121.006 (2) (a) 2., 121.05 (1) (a) 10., 121.05 (1) (a) 11., 121.05 (2m), 121.91 (2m) (a) 3m. and 121.91 (2m) (b) 2m. of the statutes; relating to: the calculation of pupil enrollment for school aid purposes.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, school is required to be held for at least 180 days during the school term. In addition, each school board must schedule at least 437 hours of direct pupil instruction in kindergarten, at least 1,050 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 1 to 6 and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 7 to 12. This bill requires that school be held for these minimum required hours of instruction and eliminates the requirement that school be held at least 180 days.

Under current law, the membership of a school district and the shared cost of a school district (a school district's net cost of its general fund and debt service fund) are used to calculate the amount of aid that a school district may receive under the state aid formula. The membership is defined as the sum of the average number of pupils enrolled on the 3rd Friday of September and the 2nd Friday of January of the previous school year, including certain other pupils enrolled in special programs or schools in the school district, and the average daily membership equivalent of pupils enrolled in summer school classes. This bill changes the definition of membership to be the number of pupils enrolled in the school district during the previous school year, including certain other pupils enrolled in special programs or schools in the school district. A pupil is counted as the number obtained by dividing the total number of hours of instruction in which the pupil is enrolled during the school term by the minimum required hours of instruction, as described above.

Under current law, a school board may establish rules scheduling the hours of a normal school day and may differentiate between the various elementary and high school grades in scheduling the school day. The bill authorizes the school board, in scheduling the school day, to differentiate among schools, educational programs and the various elementary and high school grades.

Finally, current law limits the increase in the total amount of revenue that a school district may receive from general school aids and property taxes in the 1993-94 to 1997-98 school years. In the 1993-94 school year, the maximum allowable increase per pupil was $190 or the per pupil revenue amount multiplied by the rate of inflation, whichever is greater. Beginning in the 1994-95 school year, the $190 per pupil amount is adjusted each year by the rate of inflation. The allowable revenue limit increase per pupil during the 1994-95 school year is $194 per pupil or 2.3%, whichever is greater. This amount is obtained through a calculation that uses a school district's state aid that it received in the previous school year, the property taxes levied for the previous school year and the average number of pupils in the 3 previous school years. (Number of pupils is defined as the number of pupils enrolled on the 3rd Friday of September.)

This bill changes the factors that are used in calculating the revenue limits. Specifically, the bill replaces the number of pupils factor with a membership factor, with membership defined as the number of pupils enrolled in the school district during the previous school year, calculated as described above, including certain other pupils enrolled in special programs or schools in the school district.

All changes made by the bill first apply in the 1996-97 school year.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB496, s. 1 Section 1. 115.01 (10) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 115.01 (10) and amended to read:

AB496,3,4 115.01 (10) School day. School days are days on which school is actually taught and the following days on which school is not taught:.

AB496, s. 2 Section 2. 115.01 (10) (a) 1. of the statutes is repealed.

AB496, s. 3 Section 3. 115.01 (10) (a) 2. of the statutes is repealed.

AB496, s. 4 Section 4. 115.01 (10) (b) of the statutes is repealed.

AB496, s. 5 Section 5. 115.28 (18) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,3,11 115.28 (18) Pupil membership audits. Annually require at least 25% of each school boards board to audit the number of pupils reported for membership purposes under s. 120.14 (1).

AB496, s. 6 Section 6. 115.86 (10) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,3,15 115.86 (10) (b) The board may apply for and receive the state aid under ss. s. 121.135 and 121.14. This paragraph does not apply beginning on the effective date of a resolution adopted under sub. (9) (c).

AB496, s. 7 Section 7. 117.03 (3m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,3,19 117.03 (3m) "Enrollment" means the number of pupils enrolled, as provided under s. 121.05 (1) (a), on the most recent of the preceding 3rd Friday of September or 2nd Friday of January.

AB496, s. 8 Section 8. 117.11 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,4,12 117.11 (2) Initiation of procedures. A majority of the electors residing in territory proposed to be detached from one school district and attached to an adjoining school district, or owners of more than 50% of the territory proposed to be detached from one school district and attached to an adjoining school district, as measured by its assessed valuation divided by the assessment ratio of the taxation district, may file a written petition with the clerk of the school district in which the territory is located requesting the detachment of the territory from that school district and its attachment to an adjoining school district. The petition shall include a description of the territory sufficiently accurate to determine its location in the school district in which it is located, as certified by the clerk of each city, town or village within which all or part of the territory is located, and the number of pupils residing in that territory who, on the most recent of the preceding 3rd Friday of September or 2nd Friday of January, were enrolled in the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached, as certified by the clerk of that school district. Upon receipt of the petition, the school district clerk shall send a certified notice of the petition to the school board of the school district to which the territory is proposed to be attached and to the secretary of the board.

AB496, s. 9 Section 9. 117.12 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,5,2 117.12 (2) Petition. A majority of the electors residing in the territory described under sub. (1) or owners of 50% or more of that territory may file a written petition with the clerk of the school district in which the territory is located requesting the detachment of the territory from that school district and its attachment to an adjoining school district. The petition shall include a description of the territory sufficiently accurate to determine its location in the school district in which it is located, as certified by the clerk of each city, town or village within which all or part of the territory is located, and the number of pupils residing in that territory who, on the most recent of the preceding 3rd Friday of September or 2nd Friday of January, were enrolled in the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached, as certified by the clerk of that school district. Upon receipt of the petition, the school district clerk shall send a certified copy of the petition to the school board of the school district to which the territory is proposed to be attached and to the secretary of the board.

AB496, s. 10 Section 10. 117.12 (5) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,5,8 117.12 (5) (a) 2. The total number of pupils residing in the territory proposed to be detached under the appeals who, on the most recent of the preceding 3rd Friday of September or 2nd Friday of January, were enrolled in the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached is equal to or greater than 7% of that school district's enrollment.

AB496, s. 11 Section 11. 117.13 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,6,5 117.13 (2) School board action. The school boards of 2 adjoining school districts may order territory detached from one of the school districts and attached to the other school district by the adoption, by each of the school boards, of a resolution ordering the detachment and attachment. The resolution shall include a description of the territory sufficiently accurate to determine its location in the school district in which it is located, as certified by the clerk of each city, village or town within which all or any part of the territory is located, and the number of pupils residing in that territory who, on the most recent of the preceding 3rd Friday of September or 2nd Friday of January, were enrolled in the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached, as certified by the clerk of that school district. Prior to adopting a resolution under this subsection, the school board of each affected school district shall give the electors residing in and the owners of the territory notice of the proposed reorganization and an opportunity to meet with the school board to present reasons for or against the proposed reorganization. The school district clerk of each school board that adopts a resolution under this subsection shall, within 5 days after adopting the resolution, send a certified copy of the resolution to the school board of the other affected school district and file a certified copy of the resolution as provided under s. 117.17 (2). If the school board of each of the affected school districts adopts a resolution ordering the detachment and attachment, the reorganization shall take effect on the first July 1 after the March 1 following the adoption of the resolutions, unless an appeal is filed under sub. (3).

AB496, s. 12 Section 12. 118.04 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,6,13 118.04 (4) Shall not charge tuition for attendance at summer classes of pupils who are residents of the school district if the school board receives aid for such classes under s. 121.14 counts the pupils as enrolled under s. 121.004 (7) (f). The school board may establish and collect reasonable fees for social, recreational or extracurricular summer classes and programs which are neither not credited toward graduation nor aided under s. 121.14 if the pupils attending such classes are not counted as pupils enrolled under 121.004 (7) (f).

AB496, s. 13 Section 13. 119.18 (6) (intro.) and (b) of the statutes are consolidated, renumbered 119.18 (6) and amended to read:

AB496,6,20 119.18 (6) School calendar. The board may determine the school calendar and vacation periods for each school year for the regular day schools, summer schools, social centers and playgrounds, except that: (b) The the board may close any school or dismiss any class in the event of an emergency, fire or other casualty, quarantine or epidemic.

AB496, s. 14 Section 14. 119.18 (6) (a) of the statutes is repealed.

AB496, s. 15 Section 15. 119.18 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,7,2 119.18 (7) School hours. The board may establish rules scheduling the hours of each school day during which the schools shall be in session. The board may differentiate between among schools, educational programs and the various grades in scheduling such school hours.

AB496, s. 16 Section 16. 119.71 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,7,6 119.71 (1) In this section, "full-day" has the meaning given in s. 121.004 (7) (c) 2. means the length of the school day for pupils in the first grade of the school district operating the 5-year-old kindergarten program.

AB496, s. 17 Section 17. 120.12 (15) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,7,15 120.12 (15) School hours. Establish rules scheduling the hours of a normal school day. The school board may differentiate between among schools, educational programs and the various elementary and high school grades in scheduling the school day. The equivalent of 180 such days, as defined in s. 115.01 (10), shall be held during the school term. This subsection shall not be construed to eliminate a school district's duty to bargain with the employe's collective bargaining representative over any calendaring proposal which is primarily related to wages, hours and conditions of employment.

AB496, s. 18 Section 18. 120.14 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,7,25 120.14 (1) At the close of each fiscal year, the school board of each school district shall employ a licensed accountant to audit the school district accounts and certify the audit. The audit shall include information concerning the school district's self-insurance plan under s. 120.13 (2) (b), as specified by the commissioner of insurance. If required by the state superintendent under s. 115.28 (18), the The audit shall include an audit of the number of pupils reported for membership purposes under s. 121.004 (5). The cost of the audit shall be paid from school district funds. Annually by September 15, the school district clerk shall file a financial audit statement with the state superintendent.

AB496, s. 19 Section 19. 121.004 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB496,8,4 121.004 (5) Membership. "Membership" for any school district is the sum number of pupils enrolled as reported under s. 121.05 and the summer average daily membership equivalent for classes approved under s. 121.14 (1).

AB496, s. 20 Section 20. 121.004 (5m) of the statutes is created to read: