44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999
RELATING TO EDUCATION; CHANGING CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETING TO ESTABLISH LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD FUNDING CONTROL.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 128, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Finance Act:
A. "ADM" or "MEM" means membership;
B. "membership" means the total enrollment of qualified students on the current roll of a class or school on a specified day. The current roll is established by the addition of original entries and reentries minus withdrawals. Withdrawals of students, in addition to students formally withdrawn from the public school, include students absent from the public school for as many as ten consecutive school days;
C. "basic program ADM" or "basic program MEM" means the MEM of qualified students but excludes the full-time-equivalent MEM in early childhood education and three- and four-year-old students receiving special education services;
D. "cost differential factor" is the numerical expression of the ratio of the cost of a particular segment of the school program to the cost of the basic program in grades four through six;
E. "department" or "division" means the state
department of public education;
F. "early childhood education ADM" or "early childhood education MEM" means the full-time-equivalent MEM of students attending approved early childhood education programs;
G. "full-time-equivalent ADM" or "full-time- equivalent MEM" is that membership calculated by applying to the MEM in an approved public school program the ratio of the number of hours per school day devoted to the program to six hours or the number of hours per school week devoted to the program to thirty hours;
H. "operating budget" means the annual financial
plan [required to be submitted] approved by a local school
board and submitted to the department;
I. "program cost" is the product of the total number of program units to which a school district is entitled multiplied by the dollar value per program unit established by the legislature;
J. "program element" is that component of a public school system to which a cost differential factor is applied to determine the number of program units to which a school district is entitled, including but not limited to MEM, full-time-equivalent MEM, teacher, classroom or public school;
K. "program unit" is the product of the program element multiplied by the applicable cost differential factor;
L. "public money" or "public funds" means all money from public or private sources received by a local school board or officer or employee of a local school board for public use;
M. "qualified student" means a public school student who:
(1) has not graduated from high school;
(2) is regularly enrolled in one-half or more of the minimum course requirements approved by the state board for public school students; and
(3) is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of the school year; or
(4) is at least three years of age at any time during the school year and is receiving special education services pursuant to regulation of the state board; or
(5) has not reached his twenty-second birthday on the first day of the school year and is receiving special education services pursuant to regulation of the state board; and
N. "state superintendent" means the superintendent of public instruction or his designee."
Section 2. Section 22-8-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 58, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-4. DEPARTMENT--DUTIES.--In addition to other duties provided by law, the department shall:
A. [prescribe the forms for and supervise and
control the preparation of all budgets of all public schools
and school districts] provide technical assistance to a local
school board to prepare its budget and the budgets of the
public schools located within the school districts; and
B. compile accurate information concerning public school finance and administration."
Section 3. Section 22-8-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 59, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-5. [MANUAL OF ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETING] UNIFORM
ACCOUNTING.--
A. The department shall [compile and publish a
manual prescribing detailed regulations] promulgate rules for
a uniform system of accounting and budgeting of funds for all
public schools and school districts of the state. The [manual
of regulations and any revision or amendments thereto] rules,
including revisions or amendments, shall become effective only
upon approval by the state board [of education] and the
legislative finance committee, filing with the state records
center and publication. A copy shall also be filed with the
department of finance and administration.
B. All public schools and school districts shall
comply with the [regulations prescribed in the manual of
accounting and budgeting] rules promulgated by the department
and shall, upon request, submit additional reports concerning
finances to the [department. In addition, upon request, all
public schools and school districts shall file reports with
the department containing pertinent details regarding
applications for federal money or federal grants-in-aid or
regarding federal money or federal grants-in-aid received,
including but not limited to details of programs, matching
funds, personnel requirements, salary provisions and program
numbers, as indicated in the catalog of federal domestic
assistance, of the federal funds applied for and of those
received] legislative finance committee and the legislative
education study committee.
C. Upon request by the department of finance and
administration, the legislative finance committee or the
legislative education study committee, the [state] department
[of public education] shall timely furnish information and
data obtained from public schools and school districts
[pursuant to Subsection B of this section] regarding
applications for federal money, federal grants or other
federal funding received."
Section 4. Section 22-8-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 60, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 224, Section 2 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 227, Section 9) is amended to read:
"22-8-6. BUDGETS--SUBMISSION--FAILURE TO SUBMIT.--
A. Prior to April 15 of each year, each local
school board shall [submit] provide to the department an
estimated budget for the school district for the ensuing
fiscal year. Upon written approval of the state
superintendent, the date for the submission of the estimated
budget as required by this section may be extended to a later
date fixed by the state superintendent.
B. The estimated budget required by this section may include:
(1) estimates of the cost of insurance policies for periods up to five years if a lower rate may be obtained by purchasing insurance for the longer term; or
(2) estimates of the cost of contracts for the transportation of students for terms extending up to four years.
C. The estimated budget required by this section
shall include a proposed breakdown for charter schools in the
[local] school district, by individual charter school, of the
membership projected for each charter school, the total
program units generated at that charter school and approximate
anticipated disbursements and expenditures at each charter
school.
D. If a local school board fails to submit a
budget pursuant to this section, the department shall prepare
the estimated budget for the school district for the ensuing
fiscal year. A local school board shall be considered as
failing to submit a budget pursuant to this section if the
budget submitted exceeds the total projected resources of the
school district or if the budget submitted does not comply
with the law [or the manual of accounting and budgeting of the
department]."
Section 5. Section 22-8-6.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993, Chapter 227, Section 8) is amended to read:
"22-8-6.1. CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGETS.--
A. In those school districts with authorized charter schools, each charter school shall submit to the local school board a school-based budget. The budget shall be based upon the projected total MEM at that school and the projected number of program units generated by students at that individual school.
B. The budget shall be submitted to the local school board for approval or amendment. Charter school budgets that are not approved by the local school board may be appealed to the state board.
C. Upon final approval of the budget by the local
school board, the individual school budget shall be included
in the budget [submission] provided to the department [of
education] required pursuant to the Public School Finance Act
and required pursuant to the Charter Schools Act."
Section 6. Section 22-8-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 61, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-7. BUDGETS--FORM.--All budgets [submitted]
provided to the [division] department by a school district
shall be in a form specified by the [manual of accounting and
budgeting of the division] rules promulgated by the
department."
Section 7. Section 22-8-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 63, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-9. BUDGETS--MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.--
A. [No] A budget for a school district shall [be
approved by the department that does not] provide for:
(1) a school year consisting of at least one hundred eighty full instructional days or the equivalent thereof, exclusive of any release time for in-service training; or
(2) a variable school year consisting of a minimum number of instructional hours established by the state board; and
(3) a pupil-teacher ratio or class or teaching load as provided in Section 22-2-8.2 NMSA 1978.
B. The state board shall, by regulation, establish the requirements for a teaching day, the standards for an instructional hour and the standards for a full-time certified classroom instructor and for the equivalent thereof.
C. The local school board shall [submit] provide a
plan for the implementation of an alternate school year to the
[state superintendent for his approval] department.
D. The provisions of Subsection C and Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of this section shall apply to school districts with a MEM of one thousand or fewer."
Section 8. Section 22-8-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 66, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-11. BUDGETS--[TEMPORARY--FINAL] TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.--
A. The department shall
[(1) on or before July 1 of each year,
approve and certify to each local school board a temporary
operating budget for use by the local school board pending
approval by the department of a final budget;
(2) make] provide technical assistance in
corrections, revisions and amendments to the estimated budgets
fixed by the local school boards [and the state
superintendent] to conform the budgets to the requirements of
law [and to the manual of accounting and budgeting; and
(3) before the first Monday of September of
each year, approve and certify to each local school board and
to the board of county commissioners of the county in which
the school district is situated a final budget for use by the
local school board, based upon the estimated budget fixed by
the local school board and the state superintendent].
B. No school board or officer or employee of a
school district shall make any expenditure or incur any
obligation for the expenditure of public funds unless that
expenditure or [contractual] obligation is made in accordance
with an operating budget approved by the local school board
and provided to the department [but]. This prohibition does
not prohibit the transfer of funds between line items within
series of a budget.
[C. The department shall not approve and certify a
temporary operating budget of any school district that fails
to demonstrate that parental involvement in the budget process
was solicited.]"
Section 9. Section 22-8-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 67, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-12. FINAL BUDGETS--ALTERATIONS OR AMENDMENTS.--Final budgets shall not be altered or amended after approval
by the local school board and [certification by] submission to
the department, except for the following purposes and
according to the following procedure:
A. upon [written request of any] approval by the
local school board, the [state] district superintendent may
authorize transfer within the budget, or provide for items not
included, when the total amount of the budget will not be
increased thereby;
B. [upon written request of any] the local school
board [the state superintendent, in conformance with the
regulations of the department] may authorize an increase in
any budget if the increase is necessary because of the receipt
of revenue that was not anticipated at the time the budget was
fixed and if the increase is directly related to a special
project or program for which the additional revenue was
received. The district superintendent shall submit the
revised budget as approved by the local school board to the
department. The [state superintendent] department shall make
a written report to the legislative finance committee of any
such budget increase;
C. upon written request of any local school board, the state superintendent may authorize an increase in a budget of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000); or
D. upon written request of any local school board, the state superintendent, after notice and a public hearing, may authorize an increase in a school budget in an amount exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000). The notice of the hearing shall designate the school district which proposes to alter or amend its budget, together with the time, place and date of the hearing. The notice of the hearing shall be published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the school district is situated. The last publication of the notice shall be at least three days prior to the date set for the hearing."
Section 10. Section 22-8-12.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 128, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-12.1. BUDGET REQUESTS.--
A. Each local school board shall submit annually, on or before October 15, to the department:
(1) an estimate for the succeeding fiscal year of:
(a) the membership of qualified students to be enrolled in the basic program;
(b) the full-time-equivalent membership of students to be enrolled in approved early childhood education programs; and
(c) the membership of students to be enrolled in approved special education programs;
(2) all other information necessary to calculate program costs; and
(3) any other information related to the financial needs of the school district as may be requested by the department.
B. All information requested pursuant to
Subsection A of this section shall be submitted on forms
prescribed and furnished by the department [and shall comply
with the manual of accounting and budgeting published by the
department].
C. The department shall:
(1) review the financial needs of each school district for the succeeding fiscal year; and
(2) submit annually, on or before November 30, to the secretary of finance and administration the recommendations of the state board for:
(a) amendments to the public school finance formula;
(b) appropriations for the succeeding fiscal year to the public school fund for inclusion in the executive budget document; and
(c) appropriations for the succeeding fiscal year for pupil transportation and instructional materials."