SB82: relative to funding kindergarten adequate education grants and making an appropriation therefor.

SB 82-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED

2021 SESSION

21-0170

06/10

SENATE BILL 82-FN-A

AN ACT relative to funding kindergarten adequate education grants and making an appropriation therefor.

SPONSORS: Sen. Birdsell, Dist 19; Sen. Morse, Dist 22

COMMITTEE: Finance

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Provides that the amount necessary to fund kindergarten adequate education grants shall be appropriated from the education trust fund.

II. Authorizes the governor to draw a warrant to eliminate a deficit if the balance in the education trust fund falls below zero.

III. Makes an appropriation to the department of education for fiscal year 2020 kindergarten funding.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

21-0170

06/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One

AN ACT relative to funding kindergarten adequate education grants and making an appropriation therefor.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraph; Kindergarten Adequate Education Grants. Amend RSA 198:48-b by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, and every fiscal year thereafter, the amount necessary to fund the grants under this section is hereby appropriated to the department from the education trust fund established in RSA 198:39. If the balance in the education trust fund is less than zero, the governor is authorized to draw a warrant for sufficient funds to eliminate such deficit out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. The commissioner of the department of administrative services shall inform the fiscal committee and the governor and council of such balance. This reporting shall not in any way prohibit or delay the distribution of kindergarten adequate education grants.

2 Appropriation; Department of Education. The sum of $1,906,313 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 is hereby appropriated to the department of education for the purpose of funding and distributing additional adequate education grants under RSA 198:48-b, I and II. Of this appropriation, $840,039 shall be for payments for those districts that would have been eligible for said grants had the provisions of RSA 198:48-b, I and II, been in effect for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020. Said appropriation shall be a charge against the education trust fund and shall not lapse.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

LBA

21-0170

1/20/21

SB 82-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to funding kindergarten adequate education grants and making an appropriation therefor.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024

Appropriation

$1,906,313

$0

$0

$0

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$1,906,313

$0

$0

$0

Funding Source:

[ ] General [ X ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other

LOCAL:

Revenue

$1,906,313

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

$0

$0

$0

METHODOLOGY:

This provides an education trust fund appropriation of $1,906,313, in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, to the Department of Education for the purpose of providing supplemental grants relative to districts with full-day kindergarten commencing in FY 2020 or FY 2021. Under current law, adequate education payments are determined based on prior year student counts. This bill would provide funding for school districts, in the current year, based upon beginning of year data, for the year in which a school district opens a new, full-day kindergarten program, essentially retroactive to FY 2020. Below is a summary of expected payments relative to FY 2020 and FY 2021:

FY 2020 First Year Programs

District

First Day Count

Aid Amount

Chester

47

$87,156

Salem

228

$422,801

Windham

178

$330,082

TOTAL

$840,039

FY 2021 First Year Programs

District

First Day Count

Aid Amount

Brookline

71

$131,662

Derry

275

$509,957

Epsom

33

$61,195

Hooksett

19

$35,233

Hudson

177

$328,227

TOTAL

$1,066,274

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Education