An Act To Base School Funding on the Number of Students Sent by a Town to a Regional School Unit
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §15671-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2017, c. 446, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) For the 2005 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 47.4% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2005-06.
(2) For the 2006 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 46.14% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2006-07.
(3) For the 2007 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 46.49% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2007-08.
(4) For the 2008 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 47.48% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2008-09.
(4-A) For the 2009 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 51.07% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2009-10.
(4-B) For the 2010 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 54.16% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2010-11.
(4-C) For the 2011 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 53.98% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2011-12.
(5) For the 2012 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 54.13% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2012-13.
(6) For the 2013 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 52.71% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2013-14.
(7) For the 2014 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 53.20% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2014-15.
(8) For the 2015 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 52.46% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2015-16.
(9) For the 2016 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 51.86% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2016-17.
(10) For the 2017 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 50.86% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2017-18.
(11) For the 2018 property tax year, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 50.50% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2018-19.
(12) For the 2019 property tax year and subsequent tax years, the full-value education mill rate is the amount necessary to result in a 45% statewide total local share in fiscal year 2019-20 and after.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §15671-A, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §15672, sub-§31-A, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 2, Pt. D, §36 and affected by §§72 and 74 and c. 12, Pt. WW, §18, is amended to read:
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §15688, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 494, Pt. A, §13, is further amended to read:
(1) The total cost of education described in subsection 1; and
(2) The total of the full-value education mill rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2 multiplied by the property fiscal capacity of the municipality.
(1) The municipality's total cost of education as described in subsection 2; and
(2) The total of the full-value education mill rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2 multiplied by the property fiscal capacity of the municipality.
(1) The municipality's total cost of education as described in subsection 2; and
(2) Beginning in fiscal year 2020-21:
(a) For fiscal year 2020-21, the sum of:
(i) Two-thirds of the total of the full-value education mill rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2 multiplied by the property fiscal capacity of the municipality; and
(ii) One-third of the statewide per-pupil rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2-A multiplied by the number of school level pupils who reside in the municipality and who are educated at public expense at a public school or at a private school approved for tuition purposes;
(b) For fiscal year 2021-22, the sum of:
(i) One-third of the total of the full-value education mill rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2 multiplied by the property fiscal capacity of the municipality; and
(ii) Two-thirds of the statewide per-pupil rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2-A multiplied by the number of school level pupils who reside in the municipality and who are educated at public expense at a public school or at a private school approved for tuition purposes; and
(c) For fiscal year 2022-23 and subsequent years, the statewide per-pupil rate calculated in section 15671-A, subsection 2-A multiplied by the number of school level pupils who reside in the municipality and who are educated at public expense at a public school or at a private school approved for tuition purposes.
(1) The total cost as described in subsection 1; and
(2) The sum of the totals calculated for each member municipality pursuant to paragraph B, subparagraph (2) or paragraph B-2, subparagraph (2), as applicable.
summary
This bill amends the method by which the share of the total cost of education from kindergarten to grade 12 is calculated for a municipality that is within a regional school unit. Current law establishes that share as the lesser of the municipality's total cost of education as determined under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15688, subsection 1 and an amount equal to the product of the education mill rate for the municipality multiplied by the total valuation of property in the municipality. This bill instead determines the share of the total cost of education from kindergarten to grade 12 of a municipality within a regional school unit based upon the product of the statewide per-pupil rate calculated under Title 20-A, section 15671-A, subsection 2-A and the number of pupils in the municipality who reside in the municipality and who are educated at public expense. The bill phases in this method of determining a municipality's share of the total cost of education from kindergarten to grade 12 over 3 years: in fiscal year 2020-21, the total cost is 2/3 of the amount determined based on property values and 1/3 of the amount determined based on number of pupils; in fiscal year 2021-22, the total cost is 1/3 of the amount determined based on property values and 2/3 of the amount determined based on number of pupils; and, in fiscal year 2022-23 and subsequent years, the total cost is determined based entirely on number of pupils.