Supplemental assistance-school food service operations.

2016
STATE OF WYOMING
16LSO-0260
Introduced
1.3

HOUSE BILL

NO.

HB0149

Supplemental assistance-school food service operations.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Connolly, Barlow and Lindholm and Senator(s) Driskill and Rothfuss

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to school finance; creating a categorical grant program for public school food service operations; specifying eligibility requirements; specifying financial assistance computations; requiring reports; requiring standardized accounting practices; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
336 is created to read:

21
‑
13
‑
336
.

Supplemental financial assistance program for school food service operations.

(a)

The supplemental financial assistance program for food service operations is established to augment resources within the education resource block grant model to assist
school
districts with covering the costs of food service programs. Financial assistance under this section shall be in addition to and not considered in determining school foundation program payments under the education resource block grant model pursuant to W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
309.
Calculations for a district's total food service program funding deficit shall b
e prescribed by department rule and regulation

and
shall
include
only
qualifying
meals
.

For
the
purpose of this section,
"qualifying meals"
means

the total number of
breakfast
and lunch meals
qualifying for reimbursement under the national school breakfast program established under the Child Nutrition Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1771 et seq., or the national school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1751 et seq
.
The department shall establish
uniform accounting
standards, procedures and processes which
the department and

districts shall follow in accounting for food service program revenues and expenditures.
If there
are insufficient appropriations to fund the program created by this section in any school year, the department shall make a pro rata reduction in financial assistance payments among all qualifying districts for that school year.

To qualify for financial assistance
under this section
, a school district shall:

(
i
)

Be in compliance with federal, state and district regulations and policies;

(ii)

Participate in the
national school breakfast
program
,
the national school
lunch
program
or both
;

(iii)

Conduct periodic
food service
program evaluations reviewing program quality and performance as measured by quality review instruments provided by the department;

(iv)

Implement financial management policies and procedures
for the food service program
,
including procure
ment, wage scales comparable to
other district
employees
and
accounting policies

conforming
to
the department
's accounting
standards, procedures and processes established pursuant to
this
subsection
;

(v)

Implement
a
qualifying
meal
s
counting system in compliance with department rules and regulations for report
ing purposes under this section; and

(vi)

Show
evidence that Wyoming grown products account for a minimum of ten percent (10%) of food costs.

(b)

Any qualifying school district may apply for financial assistance under this section with the department at the same time the district reports actual revenue collections for the purpose of reconciliation under W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
313(
d). Application shall be in a form and manner specified by
department
rule and regulation and shall
include:

(i)

The number of
qualifying

meals
served by the district's food service program during the school year immediately preceding the year of
application
as documented
and computed in accordance with department rule and regulation
;

(ii)

The

district's total actual food service program expenditures based upon total
qualifying
meals served during the school year immediately preceding the year of application as documented and computed in accordance with department rule and regulation
;

(iii)

The

district's total actual food service program revenues
based upon total
qualifying
meals served during
the school year immediately preceding the year of application as documented and computed in accordance with department rule and regulation
.

(c)

The amount of assistance for each qualifying applicant district under this section shall be determined by multiplying the
statewide
per meal reimbursement
amount
of eighty
‑
six cents ($0.86)

by
the number of qualifying meals reported by the applicant district under paragraph (b
)(
i) of this section. Payments for each qualifying
district shall be made by the department not later than
Novemb
er 15 of the school year of application.

(d)

Each district shall report annually to the department on food service program revenues, expenses, operations
,
policies and procedures in a manner and level of detail required by department rule and regulation. The d
epartment shall compile
information
reported under this section
and submit the compilation to the joint education interim committee not later than December 1 of each school year.

Section 2
.

The statewide per meal reimbursement of eighty
‑
six cents ($0.86) was determined

in accordance with the recommendations of
the

state education finance consultants
in the
2015 cost of education studies
, and as received by the Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration, utilizing school year 2014
‑
2015 school district data as reported by the department of education
.

Section 3
.

For the period beginning July 1, 2016 and ending June 30, 2018,
twenty million dollars
($20
,000,000.00)
is appropriated from the
school foundation program account
to the department of education to fund the program created under and subject to requirements specified
in
section 1 of this act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any purpose other than to provide supplemental financial assistance for food service operations. Any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as pr
ovided by law on June 30, 2018.

Section

4
.

This
act is effective July 1,
201
6
.

(END)

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HB0149