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