Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that allocates state aid to each school district for elementary and secondary education operations.

Highlights:

-Requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to devise a state aid allocation plan to qualified school districts with their amounts determined, as follows (Sec. 163.031):

-First, multiply the district's weighted average daily attendance by the state adequacy target; -Second, multiply this product by the dollar value modifier for the district, and subtract from this product the district's local effort.

-States that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will reduce payment amounts awarded to all districts if the final appropriation figure is less than the fiscal year 2010 actual state aid expenditure (Sec. 163.031). -Requires state aid for the 2010 - 2011 and 2011 - 2012 school years to be 52 percent of the amount of state aid calculated for the district for the year plus 48 percent of the total amount of state revenue received by the district for the 2005 - 2006 school year in reference to the calculation from the foundation formula (Sec. 163.031). -Authorizes the General Assembly to appropriate more funds than required to fund applicable percentages allotted for any school year with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education adjusting phase-in percentages in order to accommodate the total amount of available appropriations (Sec. 163.031). -Specifies that if the foundation formula appropriation is equal or greater than the fiscal year 2010 actual state aid expenditure but is insufficient to fully fund applicable percentages allotted for any school year, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will adjust phase-in percentages in order to accommodate the total amount of available appropriations (Sec. 163.031). -Requires the Joint Committee on Education to conduct a study on the issue of the timing of the delivery of state funding for elementary and secondary education to school districts and to submit a final report, including any recommendations for legislative action, to the General Assembly by December 31, 2010 (Sec. 163.500). -Specifies that, beginning in fiscal year 2012, the state portion of career ladder payments shall only be made available to local school districts if the general assembly makes an appropriation for such program (Sec. 163.500). -Allows local school districts to fund the career advancement program for its teachers even if no state appropriation was made available during years of their service (Sec. 163.500). -Specifies that every eligible teacher selected to participate in a career plan may receive a salary supplement, equal to the following amounts applied to the career ladder entitlement, as follows (Sec. 168.515):

-Career stage I teachers may receive up to an additional $1,500 per school year; -Career stage II teachers may receive up to an additional $3,000 per school year; and -Career stage III teachers may receive up to an additional $5,000 per school year.

-Authorizes the state to make payments to local school districts in order to provide funding for payments of any salary supplements subject to the availability of funds and distributed on a matching basis where the percentage of state funding will be 40 percent and the percentage of local funding 60 percent (Sec. 168.515). -This is a substitute bill sponsored by Sen. Charles Shields.

Full Bill Text