Section 304 – Necessarily existent small schools — Computing additional weighted pupil units — Consolidation of small schools.

Effective 7/1/2021
53F-2-304. Necessarily existent small schools — Computing additional weighted pupil units — Consolidation of small schools.

• (1) As used in this section, “necessarily existent small schools funding balance” means the difference between:
  • (a) the amount appropriated for the necessarily existent small schools program in a fiscal year; and
  • (b) the amount distributed to school districts for the necessarily existent small schools program in the same fiscal year.

• (2)
  • (a) Upon application by a local school board, the state board shall, in consultation with the local school board, classify schools in the school district as necessarily existent small schools, in accordance with this section and state board rules adopted under Subsection (3).
  • (b) An application must be submitted to the state board before April 2, and the state board must report a decision to a local school board before June 2.

• (3) The state board shall adopt standards and make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to:
  • (a) govern the approval of necessarily existent small schools consistent with principles of efficiency and economy that serve the purpose of eliminating schools where consolidation is feasible by participation in special school units; and
  • (b) ensure that school districts are not building secondary schools in close proximity to one another where economy and efficiency would be better served by one school meeting the needs of secondary students in a designated geographical area.

• (4) The state board shall prepare and publish objective standards and guidelines for determining which small schools are necessarily existent after consultation with local school boards.

• (5)
  • (a) Additional weighted pupil units for schools classified as necessarily existent small schools shall be computed using distribution formulas adopted by the state board.
  • (b) The distribution formulas establish the following maximum sizes for funding under the necessarily existent small school program:
    • (i) an elementary school 160
    • (ii) a one or two-year secondary school 300
    • (iii) a three-year secondary school 450
    • (iv) a four-year secondary school 500
    • (v) a six-year secondary school 600
  • (c) An elementary school with fewer than 10 students shall receive the same add-on weighted pupil units as an elementary school with 10 students.
  • (d) A secondary school with fewer than 15 students shall receive the same add-on weighted pupil units as a secondary school with 15 students.
  • (e) If a necessarily existent small school generates ADM in both elementary and secondary grades, the state board may divide the school’s ADM between an elementary and secondary distribution formula.
  • (f) The state board shall prepare and distribute an allocation table based on the distribution formula to each school district.

• (6)
  • (a) To avoid penalizing a school district financially for consolidating the school district’s small schools, additional weighted pupil units may be allowed a school district each year, not to exceed two years.
  • (b) The additional weighted pupil units may not exceed the difference between what the school district receives for a consolidated school and what the school district would have received for the small schools had the small schools not been consolidated.

• (7)
  • (a) The state board may allocate up to 208 weighted pupil units to support schools that:
    • (i) have isolating conditions, as defined by the state board, including geographic isolation; and
    • (ii) do not qualify for necessarily existent small schools funding due to formula limitations.
  • (b) The state board shall review funding allocations under this Subsection (7) at least once every five calendar years.

• (8) If the state board classifies a school as a necessarily existent small school in accordance with this section, the state board shall, subject to legislative appropriation, distribute small district base funding to the relevant school district in the following amounts:
  • (a) for a district with 500 students or less, 83 additional weighted pupil units;
  • (b) for a district with 501 to 1,000 students, 28 additional weighted pupil units; and
  • (c) for a district with 1,001 to 2,000 students, 14 additional weighted pupil units.

• (9) Subject to legislative appropriation, the state board shall give first priority from an appropriation made under this section to funding an expense approved by the state board as described in Subsection 53G-6-305(3)(a).

• (10)
  • (a) Subject to Subsection (10)(b) and after a distribution made under Subsection (9), the state board may distribute a portion of necessarily existent small schools funding:
    • (i) in accordance with a formula adopted by the state board that considers the tax effort of a local school board; or
    • (ii) to isolated small schools, as identified by the state board.
  • (b) The amount distributed in accordance with Subsection (10)(a) may not exceed the necessarily existent small schools fund in balance of the prior fiscal year.

• (11) A local school board may use the money allocated under this section for maintenance and operation of school programs or for other school purposes as approved by the state board.

• (12)
  • (a) Notwithstanding this section and subject to legislative appropriations, the state board may, in accordance with Subsection (12)(b), distribute one-time funding that the Legislature appropriates to mitigate funding losses as described in legislative appropriations.
  • (b) The state board may make the distribution described in Subsection (12)(a) to school districts that:
    • (i) enroll fewer than 5,000 students; and
    • (ii) do not pay local property tax proceeds into the Uniform School Fund as described in Section 53F-2-301.5.

Amended by Chapter 439, 2021 General Session