AB196: Bill Text

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill makes additional school districts eligible for sparsity aid and provides additional funding for school district sparsity aid.

Under current law, a school district is eligible for sparsity aid in the amount of $400 per pupil if the school district's membership in the previous school year did not exceed 745 pupils and if the membership divided by the school district's area in square miles (population density of pupils per square mile) is less than ten.

This bill extends to school districts with a membership not exceeding 1,000 pupils, rather than 745 pupils, eligibility for sparsity aid of $400 per pupil.

The bill also creates a second tier of sparsity aid for additional school districts. Under the bill, a school district is eligible for sparsity aid in the amount of $100 per pupil if the school district's membership in the previous school year was greater than 1,000 but not more than 2,700 and if the school district's population density of pupils per square mile is less than seven.

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:

AB196,1 Section 1. 115.436 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB196,2,3 115.436 (2) (intro.) A school district is eligible for sparsity aid under this section if it any of the following applies:

AB196,2,4 (am) The school district satisfies all of the following criteria:

AB196,2 Section 2. 115.436 (2) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 115.436 (2) (am) 1. and amended to read:

AB196,2,8 115.436 (2) (am) 1. The school district's membership in the previous school year was no more than 745 1,000.

AB196,3 Section 3. 115.436 (2) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB196,2,10 115.436 (2) (bm) The school district satisfies all of the following criteria:

AB196,2,12 1. The school district's membership in the previous school year was greater than 1,000 but no more than 2,700.

AB196,2,14 2. The school district's membership in the previous school year divided by the school district's area in square miles is less than 7.

AB196,4 Section 4. 115.436 (2) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 115.436 (2) (am) 2.

AB196,5 Section 5 . 115.436 (3) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 115.436 (3) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB196,2,20 115.436 (3) (a) (intro.) Beginning in the 2018-19 2019-20 school year, from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (ae) and subject to par. (b), the department shall pay to all of the following:

AB196,3,2 1. To each school district eligible for sparsity aid under sub. (2) (am), $400 multiplied by the school district's membership in the previous school year.

AB196,6 Section 6 . 115.436 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

AB196,3,5 115.436 (3) (a) 2. To each school district eligible for sparsity aid under sub. (2) (bm), $100 multiplied by the school district's membership in the previous school year.

AB196,7 Section 7. 115.436 (3) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB196,3,12 115.436 (3) (am) Beginning in the 2017-18 2019-20 school year, from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (ae), the department shall, subject to par. (b), pay to each school district that received aid under this section in the previous school year but does not satisfy the either requirement under sub. (2) (a) (am) or (bm) in the current school year 50 percent of the amount received by the school district under par. (a) in the previous school year.

AB196,8 Section 8 . Fiscal changes.

AB196,3,20 (1) In the schedule under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the department of public instruction under s. 20.255 (2) (ae), the dollar amount for fiscal year 2019-20 is increased by $16,500,000 to increase funding for the purpose for which the appropriation is made. In the schedule under s. 20.005 (3) for the appropriation to the department of public instruction under s. 20.255 (2) (ae), the dollar amount for fiscal year 2020-21 is increased by $16,500,000 to increase funding for the purpose for which the appropriation is made.

AB196,9 Section 9 . Effective date.

AB196,3,23 (1) This act takes effect on the day after publication, or on the 2nd day after publication of the 2019 biennial budget act, whichever is later.

AB196,3,24 (End)