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SB0278B -1- CSSB 278(EDC)
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CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 278(EDC)
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Offered: 5/16/26
Referred: Finance
Sponsor(s): SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to school consolidation; relating to the required local contribution 1
made by a city or borough school district for public school funding; and providing for 2
an effective date." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 14.17.410(b) is amended to read: 5
(b) Public school funding consists of state aid, a required local contribution, 6
and eligible federal impact aid determined as follows: 7
(1) state aid equals basic need minus a required local contribution and 8
90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; basic need equals the sum 9
obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set out 10
in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: 11
(A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by 12
applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; 13
(B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is 14
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multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; 1
(C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted 2
according to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then 3
multiplied by the special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and the 4
secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor set out in 5
AS 14.17.420(a)(3); 6
(D) the number obtained for intensive services under 7
AS 14.17.420(a)(2) and the number obtained for correspondence study under 8
AS 14.17.430 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph or 9
under (H) and (I) of this paragraph; 10
(E) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if a school 11
district's ADM adjusted for school size under (A) of this paragraph decreases 12
by five percent or more from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year, the school 13
district may use the last fiscal year before the decrease as a base fiscal year to 14
offset the decrease, according to the following method: 15
(i) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year 16
determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 17
for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 18
the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 75 percent of the 19
difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 20
base fiscal year and the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 21
(ii) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year 22
determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 23
for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 24
the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 50 percent of the 25
difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 26
base fiscal year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 27
(iii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year 28
determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 29
for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 30
the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 25 percent of the 31
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difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 1
base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 2
(F) the method established in (E) of this paragraph is available 3
to a school district for the three fiscal years following the base fiscal year 4
determined under (E) of this paragraph only if the district's ADM adjusted for 5
school size determined under (A) of this paragraph for each fiscal year is less 6
than the district's ADM adjusted for school size in the base fiscal year; 7
(G) the method established in (E) of this paragraph does not 8
apply to a decrease in the district's ADM adjusted for school size resulting 9
from a loss of enrollment that occurs as a result of a boundary change under 10
AS 29; 11
(H) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if one or more 12
schools close and consolidate with one or more other schools in the same 13
community and district and, as a result of the consolidation, basic need 14
generated by the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under 15
(A) - (C) of this paragraph decreases, the district may use the last fiscal year 16
before the consolidation as the base fiscal year to offset that decrease for the 17
first four fiscal years following consolidation according to the following 18
method: 19
(i) for the first two fiscal years after the base fiscal year, 20
the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - 21
(C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's 22
ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 23
paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of 24
the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, 25
and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the district's ADM of 26
the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under 27
(A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's ADM of the 28
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, 29
multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the 30
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, and 31
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adding that number to the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated 1
schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 2
paragraph; 3
(ii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the 4
district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) 5
of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's 6
ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 7
paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of 8
the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, 9
and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of the 10
district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as 11
adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's 12
ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year, 13
multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the 14
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, 15
multiplying that number by 66 percent, and adding that number to the 16
sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current 17
fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 18
(iii) for the fourth fiscal year after the base fiscal year, 19
the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - 20
(C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's 21
ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 22
paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of 23
the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, 24
and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of the 25
district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as 26
adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's 27
ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year, 28
multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the 29
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, 30
multiplying that number by 33 percent, and adding that number to the 31
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sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current 1
fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 2
(iv) to calculate the district's basic need for each fiscal 3
year, the number obtained through the calculation in (i), (ii), or (iii) of 4
this subparagraph is added to the number obtained under (C) of this 5
paragraph for the remainder of the district; 6
(I) if the basic need calculated under (H)(i) - (iii) of this 7
paragraph for one of the first four fiscal years after consolidation is less than 8
the basic need calculated under (A) - (C) of this paragraph for that fiscal year, 9
the basic need may not be adjusted under (H) of this paragraph for that fiscal 10
year; 11
(J) a district may not offset a decrease under (H) of this 12
paragraph if 13
(i) a new facility is constructed in the district for the 14
consolidation; or 15
(ii) the district offset a decrease under (E) of this 16
paragraph in the same fiscal year; 17
(K) a district that offsets a decrease under (H) of this paragraph 18
may not reopen a school that was closed for consolidation in the district until 19
(i) four [SEVEN] or more years have passed since the 20
school closure; and 21
(ii) the district provides evidence satisfactory to the 22
department that the schools affected by the consolidation are over 23
capacity; 24
(L) a district may not reopen and reconsolidate a school that 25
was consolidated in the district more than once every four [SEVEN] years for 26
purposes of the calculations made under (H) of this paragraph; 27
(M) a district offsetting a decrease under (H) of this paragraph 28
shall provide the department with the list of schools participating in the 29
consolidation and the corresponding ADM; 30
(2) the required local contribution of a city or borough school district is 31
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the equivalent of a 2.65 mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real and 1
personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as 2
determined by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 3
Development under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110; the required local 4
contribution may [,] not [TO] exceed 5
(A) 45 percent of a district's basic need for the preceding fiscal 6
year as determined under (1) of this subsection; or 7
(B) the amount of the district's required local contribution 8
for the preceding fiscal year by more than five percent. 9
* Sec. 2. AS 14.17.410(b), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, is amended to read: 10
(b) Public school funding consists of state aid, a required local contribution, 11
and eligible federal impact aid determined as follows: 12
(1) state aid equals basic need minus a required local contribution and 13
90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; basic need equals the sum 14
obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set out 15
in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: 16
(A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by 17
applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; 18
(B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is 19
multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; 20
(C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted 21
according to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then 22
multiplied by the special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and the 23
secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor set out in 24
AS 14.17.420(a)(3); 25
(D) the number obtained for intensive services under 26
AS 14.17.420(a)(2) and the number obtained for correspondence study under 27
AS 14.17.430 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph or 28
under (H) and (I) of this paragraph; 29
(E) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if a school 30
district's ADM adjusted for school size under (A) of this paragraph decreases 31
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by five percent or more from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year, the school 1
district may use the last fiscal year before the decrease as a base fiscal year to 2
offset the decrease, according to the following method: 3
(i) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year 4
determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 5
for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 6
the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 75 percent of the 7
difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 8
base fiscal year and the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 9
(ii) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year 10
determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 11
for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 12
the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 50 percent of the 13
difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 14
base fiscal year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 15
(iii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year 16
determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 17
for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 18
the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 25 percent of the 19
difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 20
base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 21
(F) the method established in (E) of this paragraph is available 22
to a school district for the three fiscal years following the base fiscal year 23
determined under (E) of this paragraph only if the district's ADM adjusted for 24
school size determined under (A) of this paragraph for each fiscal year is less 25
than the district's ADM adjusted for school size in the base fiscal year; 26
(G) the method established in (E) of this paragraph does not 27
apply to a decrease in the district's ADM adjusted for school size resulting 28
from a loss of enrollment that occurs as a result of a boundary change under 29
AS 29; 30
(H) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if one or more 31
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schools close and consolidate with one or more other schools in the same 1
community and district and, as a result of the consolidation, basic need 2
generated by the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under 3
(A) - (C) of this paragraph decreases, the district may use the last fiscal year 4
before the consolidation as the base fiscal year to offset that decrease for the 5
first four fiscal years following consolidation according to the following 6
method: 7
(i) for the first two fiscal years after the base fiscal year, 8
the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - 9
(C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's 10
ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 11
paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of 12
the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, 13
and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the district's ADM of 14
the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under 15
(A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's ADM of the 16
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, 17
multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the 18
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, and 19
adding that number to the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated 20
schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 21
paragraph; 22
(ii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the 23
district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) 24
of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's 25
ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 26
paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of 27
the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, 28
and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of the 29
district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as 30
adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's 31
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ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year, 1
multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the 2
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, 3
multiplying that number by 66 percent, and adding that number to the 4
sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current 5
fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 6
(iii) for the fourth fiscal year after the base fiscal year, 7
the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - 8
(C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's 9
ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this 10
paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of 11
the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, 12
and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of the 13
district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as 14
adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's 15
ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year, 16
multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the 17
consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, 18
multiplying that number by 33 percent, and adding that number to the 19
sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current 20
fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 21
(iv) to calculate the district's basic need for each fiscal 22
year, the number obtained through the calculation in (i), (ii), or (iii) of 23
this subparagraph is added to the number obtained under (C) of this 24
paragraph for the remainder of the district; 25
(I) if the basic need calculated under (H)(i) - (iii) of this 26
paragraph for one of the first four fiscal years after consolidation is less than 27
the basic need calculated under (A) - (C) of this paragraph for that fiscal year, 28
the basic need may not be adjusted under (H) of this paragraph for that fiscal 29
year; 30
(J) a district may not offset a decrease under (H) of this 31
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paragraph if 1
(i) a new facility is constructed in the district for the 2
consolidation; or 3
(ii) the district offset a decrease under (E) of this 4
paragraph in the same fiscal year; 5
(K) a district that offsets a decrease under (H) of this paragraph 6
may not reopen a school that was closed for consolidation in the district until 7
(i) four or more years have passed since the school 8
closure; and 9
(ii) the district provides evidence satisfactory to the 10
department that the schools affected by the consolidation are over 11
capacity; 12
(L) a district may not reopen and reconsolidate a school that 13
was consolidated in the district more than once every four years for purposes 14
of the calculations made under (H) of this paragraph; 15
(M) a district offsetting a decrease under (H) of this paragraph 16
shall provide the department with the list of schools participating in the 17
consolidation and the corresponding ADM; 18
(2) the required local contribution of a city or borough school district is 19
the equivalent of a 2.65 mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real and 20
personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as 21
determined by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 22
Development under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110, [; THE REQUIRED LOCAL 23
CONTRIBUTION MAY] not to exceed [(A)] 45 percent of a district's basic need for 24
the preceding fiscal year as determined under (1) of this subsection [; OR 25
(B) THE AMOUNT OF THE DISTRICT'S REQUIRED 26
LOCAL CONTRIBUTION FOR THE PRECEDING FISCAL YEAR BY 27
MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT]. 28
* Sec. 3. Section 1 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2026. 29
* Sec. 4. Section 2 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2029. 30