Legislative Hot Topics/Updates for Arizona School Districts

Legislative Updates

• 2016 Budget Updates – WITH 123

• Base Level – increases to $3,600

• Base Level with Teacher Comp - $3,645

• Increase of $120.44 per pupil

• Additional $50M distributed on student count

• Distributed using weighted student count from Classroom Site Fund

• Salary increases can be made without revising contracts

• Budget must be revised by June 30, 2016

Legislative Updates

• 2017 Budget Updates – WITH 123

• Base level $3,635.64 (without teacher comp), $3,681.09 (with teacher comp)

• Additional $50M distributed on student count• Distributed using weighted student count from Classroom Site

Fund

• Transportation Support Level – 0.989% increase• $2.09 and $2.56 per mile

• DAA - $113.5M in additional cuts• Projected FY17 is 15% of formula

Budget and Finance Updates

• ASRS – 11.34% Retirement, .14% LTD

• ASRS – ACR – 9.47%

• Prop 301 Per Pupil - $332

• QTR - $2.0793, $4.1586

• Health Insurance Increases?

• Salary Increases?

Legislative Updates

• SB1525 - JTED Restoration and Reforms• Defines passing score• Defines instructional time focus• Emphasis on extra funding for instruction and equipment• Original cuts reduced funding from 100% to 92.5%• Cuts were restored in FY17• Section W. is amended to prohibit a district from requiring

students to generate a 1.0 ADM before enrolling and attending JTED courses

• Base Support Level calculation provided in 15-943.02 will be based upon current year count

Legislative Updates

• General effective date: August 6, 2016 unless otherwise noted

• Emergency clauses

• Statute includes a provision if a bill has a budget impact, it is rolled back to the start of the fiscal year

Legislative Update

• HB2481 – Schools; primary property tax rate

• Eliminated 4% cap for budget balance carryforward

• Primary tax rate calculated by formula based upon QTR & allowable expenditure items like TRCL/TSL difference, small school exemption, desegregation, adjacent ways, etc.

• Cash balance no longer used

Legislative Updates

• HB2476 – School property; sales; leases; use

• Repeals 15-1102 and replaces with new language in 15-1102

• Collapses 500, 505, 506 as one plant fund

• Retroactive to July 1, 2016

Legislative Update

• HB2190 – Education Omnibus

• Modifies the definition of extracurricular activities for the purposes of the tax credit referred to as the extracurricular tax credit, to include school-sponsored activities that do not require students to pay a fee

• Audit firm must send copy of audit to CSS

• Limits hearing requirements for use of insurance recovery and litigation recover monies for more than $250,000

• Eliminates SPED categorical tables from budget forms

Legislative Updates

• SB1117 – Adjacent Ways

• Requires that adjacent ways project proposal to be filed with the SFB to include project cost.

• If entire project cost for the project is greater than $50K, the project has to be approved by the SFB

• SFB must approve within 60 days

FLSA Changes – Effective 12/1/16

• Three tests for exemption• Salary level, salary basis, job duties = all three must be met

for an employee to be exempt• Currently, salary level test is set at $23,660. Proposed to

change to $47,476• Teachers continue to be exempt• §541.204 Educational Establishments – references

education institutions that could lower the salary level test to the starting salary for teachers (prorated to 12 month calendar)