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91_SB0281 LRB9101184NTsb 1 AN ACT concerning schools, amending named Acts. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 5 Sections 18-8.05 and 19-1 as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/18-8.05) 7 Sec. 18-8.05. Basis for apportionment of general State 8 financial aid and supplemental general State aid to the 9 common schools for the 1998-1999 and subsequent school years. 10 (A) General Provisions. 11 (1) The provisions of this Section apply to the 12 1998-1999 and subsequent school years. The system of general 13 State financial aid provided for in this Section is designed 14 to assure that, through a combination of State financial aid 15 and required local resources, the financial support provided 16 each pupil in Average Daily Attendance equals or exceeds a 17 prescribed per pupil Foundation Level. This formula approach 18 imputes a level of per pupil Available Local Resources and 19 provides for the basis to calculate a per pupil level of 20 general State financial aid that, when added to Available 21 Local Resources, equals or exceeds the Foundation Level. The 22 amount of per pupil general State financial aid for school 23 districts, in general, varies in inverse relation to 24 Available Local Resources. Per pupil amounts are based upon 25 each school district's Average Daily Attendance as that term 26 is defined in this Section. 27 (2) In addition to general State financial aid, school 28 districts with specified levels or concentrations of pupils 29 from low income households are eligible to receive 30 supplemental general State financial aid grants as provided 31 pursuant to subsection (H). The supplemental State aid grants -2- LRB9101184NTsb 1 provided for school districts under subsection (H) shall be 2 appropriated for distribution to school districts as part of 3 the same line item in which the general State financial aid 4 of school districts is appropriated under this Section. 5 (3) To receive financial assistance under this Section, 6 school districts are required to file claims with the State 7 Board of Education, subject to the following requirements: 8 (a) Any school district which fails for any given 9 school year to maintain school as required by law, or to 10 maintain a recognized school is not eligible to file for 11 such school year any claim upon the Common School Fund. 12 In case of nonrecognition of one or more attendance 13 centers in a school district otherwise operating 14 recognized schools, the claim of the district shall be 15 reduced in the proportion which the Average Daily 16 Attendance in the attendance center or centers bear to 17 the Average Daily Attendance in the school district. A 18 "recognized school" means any public school which meets 19 the standards as established for recognition by the State 20 Board of Education. A school district or attendance 21 center not having recognition status at the end of a 22 school term is entitled to receive State aid payments due 23 upon a legal claim which was filed while it was 24 recognized. 25 (b) School district claims filed under this Section 26 are subject to Sections 18-9, 18-10, and 18-12, except as 27 otherwise provided in this Section. 28 (c) If a school district operates a full year 29 school under Section 10-19.1, the general State aid to 30 the school district shall be determined by the State 31 Board of Education in accordance with this Section as 32 near as may be applicable. 33 (d) (Blank). 34 (4) Except as provided in subsections (H) and (L), the -3- LRB9101184NTsb 1 board of any district receiving any of the grants provided 2 for in this Section may apply those funds to any fund so 3 received for which that board is authorized to make 4 expenditures by law. 5 School districts are not required to exert a minimum 6 Operating Tax Rate in order to qualify for assistance under 7 this Section. 8 (5) As used in this Section the following terms, when 9 capitalized, shall have the meaning ascribed herein: 10 (a) "Average Daily Attendance": A count of pupil 11 attendance in school, averaged as provided for in 12 subsection (C) and utilized in deriving per pupil 13 financial support levels. 14 (b) "Available Local Resources": A computation of 15 local financial support, calculated on the basis of 16 Average Daily Attendance and derived as provided pursuant 17 to subsection (D). 18 (c) "Corporate Personal Property Replacement 19 Taxes": Funds paid to local school districts pursuant to 20 "An Act in relation to the abolition of ad valorem 21 personal property tax and the replacement of revenues 22 lost thereby, and amending and repealing certain Acts and 23 parts of Acts in connection therewith", certified August 24 14, 1979, as amended (Public Act 81-1st S.S.-1). 25 (d) "Foundation Level": A prescribed level of per 26 pupil financial support as provided for in subsection 27 (B). 28 (e) "Operating Tax Rate": All school district 29 property taxes extended for all purposes, except Bond and 30 Interest, Summer School, Rent, Capital Improvement, and 31 Vocational Education Building purposes. 32 (B) Foundation Level. 33 (1) The Foundation Level is a figure established by the 34 State representing the minimum level of per pupil financial -4- LRB9101184NTsb 1 support that should be available to provide for the basic 2 education of each pupil in Average Daily Attendance. As set 3 forth in this Section, each school district is assumed to 4 exert a sufficient local taxing effort such that, in 5 combination with the aggregate of general State financial aid 6 provided the district, an aggregate of State and local 7 resources are available to meet the basic education needs of 8 pupils in the district. 9 (2) For the 1998-1999 school year, the Foundation Level 10 of support is $4,225. For the 1999-2000 school year, the 11 Foundation Level of support is $4,325. For the 2000-2001 12 school year, the Foundation Level of support is $4,425. 13 (3) For the 2001-2002 school year and each school year 14 thereafter, the Foundation Level of support is $4,425 or such 15 greater amount as may be established by law by the General 16 Assembly. 17 (C) Average Daily Attendance. 18 (1) For purposes of calculating general State aid 19 pursuant to subsection (E), an Average Daily Attendance 20 figure shall be utilized. The Average Daily Attendance 21 figure for formula calculation purposes shall be the monthly 22 average of the actual number of pupils in attendance of each 23 school district, as further averaged for the best 3 months of 24 pupil attendance for each school district. In compiling the 25 figures for the number of pupils in attendance, school 26 districts and the State Board of Education shall, for 27 purposes of general State aid funding, conform attendance 28 figures to the requirements of subsection (F). 29 (2) The Average Daily Attendance figures utilized in 30 subsection (E) shall be the requisite attendance data for the 31 school year immediately preceding the school year for which 32 general State aid is being calculated. 33 (D) Available Local Resources. -5- LRB9101184NTsb 1 (1) For purposes of calculating general State aid 2 pursuant to subsection (E), a representation of Available 3 Local Resources per pupil, as that term is defined and 4 determined in this subsection, shall be utilized. Available 5 Local Resources per pupil shall include a calculated dollar 6 amount representing local school district revenues from local 7 property taxes and from Corporate Personal Property 8 Replacement Taxes, expressed on the basis of pupils in 9 Average Daily Attendance. 10 (2) In determining a school district's revenue from 11 local property taxes, the State Board of Education shall 12 utilize the equalized assessed valuation of all taxable 13 property of each school district as of September 30 of the 14 previous year. The equalized assessed valuation utilized 15 shall be obtained and determined as provided in subsection 16 (G). 17 (3) For school districts maintaining grades kindergarten 18 through 12, local property tax revenues per pupil shall be 19 calculated as the product of the applicable equalized 20 assessed valuation for the district multiplied by 3.00%, and 21 divided by the district's Average Daily Attendance figure. 22 For school districts maintaining grades kindergarten through 23 8, local property tax revenues per pupil shall be calculated 24 as the product of the applicable equalized assessed valuation 25 for the district multiplied by 2.30%, and divided by the 26 district's Average Daily Attendance figure. For school 27 districts maintaining grades 9 through 12, local property tax 28 revenues per pupil shall be the applicable equalized assessed 29 valuation of the district multiplied by 1.10%1.20%, and 30 divided by the district's Average Daily Attendance figure. 31 (4) The Corporate Personal Property Replacement Taxes 32 paid to each school district during the calendar year 2 years 33 before the calendar year in which a school year begins, 34 divided by the Average Daily Attendance figure for that -6- LRB9101184NTsb 1 district, shall be added to the local property tax revenues 2 per pupil as derived by the application of the immediately 3 preceding paragraph (3). The sum of these per pupil figures 4 for each school district shall constitute Available Local 5 Resources as that term is utilized in subsection (E) in the 6 calculation of general State aid. 7 (E) Computation of General State Aid. 8 (1) For each school year, the amount of general State 9 aid allotted to a school district shall be computed by the 10 State Board of Education as provided in this subsection. 11 (2) For any school district for which Available Local 12 Resources per pupil is less than the product of 0.93 times 13 the Foundation Level, general State aid for that district 14 shall be calculated as an amount equal to the Foundation 15 Level minus Available Local Resources, multiplied by the 16 Average Daily Attendance of the school district. 17 (3) For any school district for which Available Local 18 Resources per pupil is equal to or greater than the product 19 of 0.93 times the Foundation Level and less than the product 20 of 1.75 times the Foundation Level, the general State aid per 21 pupil shall be a decimal proportion of the Foundation Level 22 derived using a linear algorithm. Under this linear 23 algorithm, the calculated general State aid per pupil shall 24 decline in direct linear fashion from 0.07 times the 25 Foundation Level for a school district with Available Local 26 Resources equal to the product of 0.93 times the Foundation 27 Level, to 0.05 times the Foundation Level for a school 28 district with Available Local Resources equal to the product 29 of 1.75 times the Foundation Level. The allocation of 30 general State aid for school districts subject to this 31 paragraph 3 shall be the calculated general State aid per 32 pupil figure multiplied by the Average Daily Attendance of 33 the school district. 34 (4) For any school district for which Available Local -7- LRB9101184NTsb 1 Resources per pupil equals or exceeds the product of 1.75 2 times the Foundation Level, the general State aid for the 3 school district shall be calculated as the product of $218 4 multiplied by the Average Daily Attendance of the school 5 district. 6 (F) Compilation of Average Daily Attendance. 7 (1) Each school district shall, by July 1 of each year, 8 submit to the State Board of Education, on forms prescribed 9 by the State Board of Education, attendance figures for the 10 school year that began in the preceding calendar year. The 11 attendance information so transmitted shall identify the 12 average daily attendance figures for each month of the school 13 year, except that any days of attendance in August shall be 14 added to the month of September and any days of attendance in 15 June shall be added to the month of May. 16 Except as otherwise provided in this Section, days of 17 attendance by pupils shall be counted only for sessions of 18 not less than 5 clock hours of school work per day under 19 direct supervision of: (i) teachers, or (ii) non-teaching 20 personnel or volunteer personnel when engaging in 21 non-teaching duties and supervising in those instances 22 specified in subsection (a) of Section 10-22.34 and paragraph 23 10 of Section 34-18, with pupils of legal school age and in 24 kindergarten and grades 1 through 12. 25 Days of attendance by tuition pupils shall be accredited 26 only to the districts that pay the tuition to a recognized 27 school. 28 (2) Days of attendance by pupils of less than 5 clock 29 hours of school shall be subject to the following provisions 30 in the compilation of Average Daily Attendance. 31 (a) Pupils regularly enrolled in a public school 32 for only a part of the school day may be counted on the 33 basis of 1/6 day for every class hour of instruction of 34 40 minutes or more attended pursuant to such enrollment. -8- LRB9101184NTsb 1 (b) Days of attendance may be less than 5 clock 2 hours on the opening and closing of the school term, and 3 upon the first day of pupil attendance, if preceded by a 4 day or days utilized as an institute or teachers' 5 workshop. 6 (c) A session of 4 or more clock hours may be 7 counted as a day of attendance upon certification by the 8 regional superintendent, and approved by the State 9 Superintendent of Education to the extent that the 10 district has been forced to use daily multiple sessions. 11 (d) A session of 3 or more clock hours may be 12 counted as a day of attendance (1) when the remainder of 13 the school day or at least 2 hours in the evening of that 14 day is utilized for an in-service training program for 15 teachers, up to a maximum of 5 days per school year of 16 which a maximum of 4 days of such 5 days may be used for 17 parent-teacher conferences, provided a district conducts 18 an in-service training program for teachers which has 19 been approved by the State Superintendent of Education; 20 or, in lieu of 4 such days, 2 full days may be used, in 21 which event each such day may be counted as a day of 22 attendance; and (2) when days in addition to those 23 provided in item (1) are scheduled by a school pursuant 24 to its school improvement plan adopted under Article 34 25 or its revised or amended school improvement plan adopted 26 under Article 2, provided that (i) such sessions of 3 or 27 more clock hours are scheduled to occur at regular 28 intervals, (ii) the remainder of the school days in which 29 such sessions occur are utilized for in-service training 30 programs or other staff development activities for 31 teachers, and (iii) a sufficient number of minutes of 32 school work under the direct supervision of teachers are 33 added to the school days between such regularly scheduled 34 sessions to accumulate not less than the number of -9- LRB9101184NTsb 1 minutes by which such sessions of 3 or more clock hours 2 fall short of 5 clock hours. Any full days used for the 3 purposes of this paragraph shall not be considered for 4 computing average daily attendance. Days scheduled for 5 in-service training programs, staff development 6 activities, or parent-teacher conferences may be 7 scheduled separately for different grade levels and 8 different attendance centers of the district. 9 (e) A session of not less than one clock hour of 10 teachingofhospitalized or homebound pupils on-site or 11 by telephone to the classroom may be counted as 1/2 day 12 of attendance, however these pupils must receive 4 or 13 more clock hours of instruction to be counted for a full 14 day of attendance. 15 (f) A session of at least 4 clock hours may be 16 counted as a day of attendance for first grade pupils, 17 and pupils in full day kindergartens, and a session of 2 18 or more hours may be counted as 1/2 day of attendance by 19 pupils in kindergartens which provide only 1/2 day of 20 attendance. 21 (g) For children with disabilities who are below 22 the age of 6 years and who cannot attend 2 or more clock 23 hours because of their disability or immaturity, a 24 session of not less than one clock hour may be counted as 25 1/2 day of attendance; however for such children whose 26 educational needs so require a session of 4 or more clock 27 hours may be counted as a full day of attendance. 28 (h) A recognized kindergarten which provides for 29 only 1/2 day of attendance by each pupil shall not have 30 more than 1/2 day of attendance counted in any one1day. 31 However, kindergartens may count 2 1/2 days of attendance 32 in any 5 consecutive school days. When a pupil attends 33 such a kindergarten for 2 half days on any one school 34 day, the pupil shall have the following day as a day -10- LRB9101184NTsb 1 absent from school, unless the school district obtains 2 permission in writing from the State Superintendent of 3 Education. Attendance at kindergartens which provide for 4 a full day of attendance by each pupil shall be counted 5 the same as attendance by first grade pupils. Only the 6 first year of attendance in one kindergarten shall be 7 counted, except in case of children who entered the 8 kindergarten in their fifth year whose educational 9 development requires a second year of kindergarten as 10 determined under the rules and regulations of the State 11 Board of Education. 12 (G) Equalized Assessed Valuation Data. 13 (1) For purposes of the calculation of Available Local 14 Resources required pursuant to subsection (D), the State 15 Board of Education shall secure from the Department of 16 Revenue the value as equalized or assessed by the Department 17 of Revenue of all taxable property of every school district 18 together with the applicable tax rate used in extending taxes 19 for the funds of the district as of September 30 of the 20 previous year. 21 This equalized assessed valuation, as adjusted further by 22 the requirements of this subsection, shall be utilized in the 23 calculation of Available Local Resources. 24 (2) The equalized assessed valuation in paragraph (1) 25 shall be adjusted, as applicable, in the following manner: 26 (a) For the purposes of calculating State aid under 27 this Section, with respect to any part of a school 28 district within a redevelopment project area in respect 29 to which a municipality has adopted tax increment 30 allocation financing pursuant to the Tax Increment 31 Allocation Redevelopment Act, Sections 11-74.4-1 through 32 11-74.4-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code or the 33 Industrial Jobs Recovery Law, Sections 11-74.6-1 through 34 11-74.6-50 of the Illinois Municipal Code, no part of the -11- LRB9101184NTsb 1 current equalized assessed valuation of real property 2 located in any such project area which is attributable to 3 an increase above the total initial equalized assessed 4 valuation of such property shall be used as part of the 5 equalized assessed valuation of the district, until such 6 time as all redevelopment project costs have been paid, 7 as provided in Section 11-74.4-8 of the Tax Increment 8 Allocation Redevelopment Act or in Section 11-74.6-35 of 9 the Industrial Jobs Recovery Law. For the purpose of the 10 equalized assessed valuation of the district, the total 11 initial equalized assessed valuation or the current 12 equalized assessed valuation, whichever is lower, shall 13 be used until such time as all redevelopment project 14 costs have been paid. 15 (b) The real property equalized assessed valuation 16 for a school district shall be adjusted by subtracting 17 from the real property value as equalized or assessed by 18 the Department of Revenue for the district an amount 19 computed by dividing the amount of any abatement of taxes 20 under Section 18-170 of the Property Tax Code by 3.00% 21 for a district maintaining grades kindergarten through 12 22 ,orby 2.30% for a district maintaining grades 23 kindergarten through 8, or by 1.10%1.20%for a district 24 maintaining grades 9 through 12 and adjusted by an amount 25 computed by dividing the amount of any abatement of taxes 26 under subsection (a) of Section 18-165 of the Property 27 Tax Code by the same percentage rates for district type 28 as specified in this subparagraph (b)(c). 29 (H) Supplemental General State Aid. 30 (1) In addition to the general State aid a school 31 district is allotted pursuant to subsection (E), qualifying 32 school districts shall receive a grant, paid in conjunction 33 with a district's payments of general State aid, for 34 supplemental general State aid based upon the concentration -12- LRB9101184NTsb 1 level of children from low-income households within the 2 school district. Supplemental State aid grants provided for 3 school districts under this subsection shall be appropriated 4 for distribution to school districts as part of the same line 5 item in which the general State financial aid of school 6 districts is appropriated under this Section. For purposes of 7 this subsection, the term "Low-Income Concentration Level" 8 shall be the low-income eligible pupil count from the most 9 recently available federal census divided by the Average 10 Daily Attendance of the school district, except that for 11 purposes of determining the supplemental general State aid 12 grant to be provided under this subsection for the 2000-2001 13 and the 2001-2002 school years to a qualifying school 14 district that has a population of less than 500,000 15 inhabitants, the "Low-Income Concentration Level" shall be 16 the low-income eligible pupil count from the most recently 17 available federal census divided (i) for the 2000-2001 school 18 year, by the Average Daily Attendance of the school district 19 for the 1998-1999 school year or by the Average Daily 20 Attendance of the school district for the 1999-2000 school 21 year, whichever is lower, and (ii) for the 2001-2002 school 22 year, by the Average Daily Attendance of the school district 23 for the 1998-1999 school year, by the Average Daily 24 Attendance of the school district for the 1999-2000 school 25 year, or by the Average Daily Attendance of the school 26 district for the 2000-2001 school year, whichever is the 27 lowest. 28 (2) Supplemental general State aid pursuant to this 29 subsection shall be provided as follows: 30 (a) For any school district with a Low Income 31 Concentration Level of at least 20% and less than 35%, 32 the grant for any school year shall be $800 multiplied by 33 the low income eligible pupil count. 34 (b) For any school district with a Low Income -13- LRB9101184NTsb 1 Concentration Level of at least 35% and less than 50%, 2 the grant for the 1998-1999 school year shall be $1,100 3 multiplied by the low income eligible pupil count. 4 (c) For any school district with a Low Income 5 Concentration Level of at least 50% and less than 60%, 6 the grant for the 1998-99 school year shall be $1,500 7 multiplied by the low income eligible pupil count. 8 (d) For any school district with a Low Income 9 Concentration Level of 60% or more, the grant for the 10 1998-99 school year shall be $1,900 multiplied by the low 11 income eligible pupil count. 12 (e) For the 1999-2000 school year, the per pupil 13 amount specified in subparagraphs (b), (c), and (d), 14 immediately above shall be increased by $100 to $1,200, 15 $1,600, and $2,000, respectively. 16 (f) For the 2000-2001 school year, the per pupil 17 amounts specified in subparagraphs (b), (c) and (d) 18 immediately above shall be increased to $1,230, $1,640, 19 and $2,050, respectively. 20 (3) School districts with an Average Daily Attendance of 21 more than 1,000 and less than 50,000 that qualify for 22 supplemental general State aid pursuant to this subsection 23 shall submit a plan to the State Board of Education prior to 24 October 30 of each year for the use of the funds resulting 25 from this grant of supplemental general State aid for the 26 improvement of instruction in which priority is given to 27 meeting the education needs of disadvantaged children. Such 28 plan shall be submitted in accordance with rules and 29 regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. 30 (4) School districts with an Average Daily Attendance of 31 50,000 or more that qualify for supplemental general State 32 aid pursuant to this subsection shall be required to 33 distribute from funds available pursuant to this Section, no 34 less than $261,000,000 in accordance with the following -14- LRB9101184NTsb 1 requirements: 2 (a) The required amounts shall be distributed to 3 the attendance centers within the district in proportion 4 to the number of pupils enrolled at each attendance 5 center who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price 6 lunches or breakfasts under the federal Child Nutrition 7 Act of 1966 and under the National School Lunch Act 8 during the immediately preceding school year. 9 (b) The distribution of these portions of 10 supplemental and general State aid among attendance 11 centers according to these requirements shall not be 12 compensated for or contravened by adjustments of the 13 total of other funds appropriated to any attendance 14 centers, and the Board of Education shall utilize funding 15 from one or several sources in order to fully implement 16 this provision annually prior to the opening of school. 17 (c) Each attendance center shall be provided by the 18 school district a distribution of noncategorical funds 19 and other categorical funds to which an attendance center 20 is entitled under law in order that the general State aid 21 and supplemental general State aid provided by 22 application of this subsection supplements rather than 23 supplants the noncategorical funds and other categorical 24 funds provided by the school district to the attendance 25 centers. 26 (d) Any funds made available under this subsection 27 that by reason of the provisions of this subsection are 28 not required to be allocated and provided to attendance 29 centers may be used and appropriated by the board of the 30 district for any lawful school purpose. 31 (e) Funds received by an attendance center pursuant 32 to this subsection shall be used by the attendance center 33 at the discretion of the principal and local school 34 council for programs to improve educational opportunities -15- LRB9101184NTsb 1 at qualifying schools through the following programs and 2 services: early childhood education, reduced class size 3 or improved adult to student classroom ratio, enrichment 4 programs, remedial assistance, attendance improvement, 5 and other educationally beneficial expenditures which 6 supplement the regular and basic programs as determined 7 by the State Board of Education. Funds provided shall 8 not be expended for any political or lobbying purposes as 9 defined by board rule. 10 (f) Each district subject to the provisions of this 11 subdivision (H)(4) shall submit an acceptable plan to 12 meet the educational needs of disadvantaged children, in 13 compliance with the requirements of this paragraph, to 14 the State Board of Education prior to July 15 of each 15 year. This plan shall be consistent with the decisions of 16 local school councils concerning the school expenditure 17 plans developed in accordance with part 4 of Section 18 34-2.3. The State Board shall approve or reject the plan 19 within 60 days after its submission. If the plan is 20 rejected, the district shall give written notice of 21 intent to modify the plan within 15 days of the 22 notification of rejection and then submit a modified plan 23 within 30 days after the date of the written notice of 24 intent to modify. Districts may amend approved plans 25 pursuant to rules promulgated by the State Board of 26 Education. 27 Upon notification by the State Board of Education 28 that the district has not submitted a plan prior to July 29 15 or a modified plan within the time period specified 30 herein, the State aid funds affected by that plan or 31 modified plan shall be withheld by the State Board of 32 Education until a plan or modified plan is submitted. 33 If the district fails to distribute State aid to 34 attendance centers in accordance with an approved plan, -16- LRB9101184NTsb 1 the plan for the following year shall allocate funds, in 2 addition to the funds otherwise required by this 3 subsection, to those attendance centers which were 4 underfunded during the previous year in amounts equal to 5 such underfunding. 6 For purposes of determining compliance with this 7 subsection in relation to the requirements of attendance 8 center funding, each district subject to the provisions 9 of this subsection shall submit as a separate document by 10 December 1 of each year a report of expenditure data for 11 the prior year in addition to any modification of its 12 current plan. If it is determined that there has been a 13 failure to comply with the expenditure provisions of this 14 subsection regarding contravention or supplanting, the 15 State Superintendent of Education shall, within 60 days 16 of receipt of the report, notify the district and any 17 affected local school council. The district shall within 18 45 days of receipt of that notification inform the State 19 Superintendent of Education of the remedial or corrective 20 action to be taken, whether by amendment of the current 21 plan, if feasible, or by adjustment in the plan for the 22 following year. Failure to provide the expenditure 23 report or the notification of remedial or corrective 24 action in a timely manner shall result in a withholding 25 of the affected funds. 26 The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules 27 and regulations to implement the provisions of this 28 subsection. No funds shall be released under this 29 subdivision (H)(4) to any district that has not submitted 30 a plan that has been approved by the State Board of 31 Education. 32 (I) General State Aid for Newly Configured School Districts. 33 (1) For a new school district formed by combining 34 property included totally within 2 or more previously -17- LRB9101184NTsb 1 existing school districts, for its first year of existence 2 the general State aid and supplemental general State aid 3 calculated under this Section shall be computed for the new 4 district and for the previously existing districts for which 5 property is totally included within the new district. If the 6 computation on the basis of the previously existing districts 7 is greater, a supplementary payment equal to the difference 8 shall be made for the first 4 years of existence of the new 9 district. 10 (2) For a school district which annexes all of the 11 territory of one or more entire other school districts, for 12 the first year during which the change of boundaries 13 attributable to such annexation becomes effective for all 14 purposes as determined under Section 7-9 or 7A-8, the general 15 State aid and supplemental general State aid calculated under 16 this Section shall be computed for the annexing district as 17 constituted after the annexation and for the annexing and 18 each annexed district as constituted prior to the annexation; 19 and if the computation on the basis of the annexing and 20 annexed districts as constituted prior to the annexation is 21 greater, a supplementary payment equal to the difference 22 shall be made for the first 4 years of existence of the 23 annexing school district as constituted upon such annexation. 24 (3) For 2 or more school districts which annex all of 25 the territory of one or more entire other school districts, 26 and for 2 or more community unit districts which result upon 27 the division (pursuant to petition under Section 11A-2) of 28 one or more other unit school districts into 2 or more parts 29 and which together include all of the parts into which such 30 other unit school district or districts are so divided, for 31 the first year during which the change of boundaries 32 attributable to such annexation or division becomes effective 33 for all purposes as determined under Section 7-9 or 11A-10, 34 as the case may be, the general State aid and supplemental -18- LRB9101184NTsb 1 general State aid calculated under this Section shall be 2 computed for each annexing or resulting district as 3 constituted after the annexation or division and for each 4 annexing and annexed district, or for each resulting and 5 divided district, as constituted prior to the annexation or 6 division; and if the aggregate of the general State aid and 7 supplemental general State aid as so computed for the 8 annexing or resulting districts as constituted after the 9 annexation or division is less than the aggregate of the 10 general State aid and supplemental general State aid as so 11 computed for the annexing and annexed districts, or for the 12 resulting and divided districts, as constituted prior to the 13 annexation or division, then a supplementary payment equal to 14 the difference shall be made and allocated between or among 15 the annexing or resulting districts, as constituted upon such 16 annexation or division, for the first 4 years of their 17 existence. The total difference payment shall be allocated 18 between or among the annexing or resulting districts in the 19 same ratio as the pupil enrollment from that portion of the 20 annexed or divided district or districts which is annexed to 21 or included in each such annexing or resulting district bears 22 to the total pupil enrollment from the entire annexed or 23 divided district or districts, as such pupil enrollment is 24 determined for the school year last ending prior to the date 25 when the change of boundaries attributable to the annexation 26 or division becomes effective for all purposes. The amount 27 of the total difference payment and the amount thereof to be 28 allocated to the annexing or resulting districts shall be 29 computed by the State Board of Education on the basis of 30 pupil enrollment and other data which shall be certified to 31 the State Board of Education, on forms which it shall provide 32 for that purpose, by the regional superintendent of schools 33 for each educational service region in which the annexing and 34 annexed districts, or resulting and divided districts are -19- LRB9101184NTsb 1 located. 2 (3.5) Claims for financial assistance under this 3 subsection (I) shall not be recomputed except as expressly 4 provided under this Section. 5 (4) Any supplementary payment made under this subsection 6 (I) shall be treated as separate from all other payments made 7 pursuant to this Section. 8 (J) Supplementary Grants in Aid. 9 (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this 10 Section, the amount of the aggregate general State aid in 11 combination with supplemental general State aid under this 12 Section for which each school district is eligible shall be 13 no less than the amount of the aggregate general State aid 14 entitlement that was received by the district under Section 15 18-8 (exclusive of amounts received under subsections 5(p) 16 and 5(p-5) of that Section) for the 1997-98 school year, 17 pursuant to the provisions of that Section as it was then in 18 effect. If a school district qualifies to receive a 19 supplementary payment made under this subsection (J), the 20 amount of the aggregate general State aid in combination with 21 supplemental general State aid under this Section which that 22 district is eligible to receive for each school year shall be 23 no less than the amount of the aggregate general State aid 24 entitlement that was received by the district under Section 25 18-8 (exclusive of amounts received under subsections 5(p) 26 and 5(p-5) of that Section) for the 1997-1998 school year, 27 pursuant to the provisions of that Section as it was then in 28 effect. 29 (2) If, as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection 30 (J), a school district is to receive aggregate general State 31 aid in combination with supplemental general State aid under 32 this Section for the 1998-99 school year and any subsequent 33 school year that in any such school year is less than the 34 amount of the aggregate general State aid entitlement that -20- LRB9101184NTsb 1 the district received for the 1997-98 school year, the school 2 district shall also receive, from a separate appropriation 3 made for purposes of this subsection (J), a supplementary 4 payment that is equal to the amount of the difference in the 5 aggregate State aid figures as described in paragraph (1). 6 (3) (Blank). 7 (K) Grants to Laboratory and Alternative Schools. 8 In calculating the amount to be paid to the governing 9 board of a public university that operates a laboratory 10 school under this Section or to any alternative school that 11 is operated by a regional superintendent of schools, the 12 State Board of Education shall require by rule such reporting 13 requirements as it deems necessary. 14 As used in this Section, "laboratory school" means a 15 public school which is created and operated by a public 16 university and approved by the State Board of Education. The 17 governing board of a public university which receives funds 18 from the State Board under this subsection (K) may not 19 increase the number of students enrolled in its laboratory 20 school from a single district, if that district is already 21 sending 50 or more students, except under a mutual agreement 22 between the school board of a student's district of residence 23 and the university which operates the laboratory school. A 24 laboratory school may not have more than 1,000 students, 25 excluding students with disabilities in a special education 26 program. 27 As used in this Section, "alternative school" means a 28 public school which is created and operated by a Regional 29 Superintendent of Schools and approved by the State Board of 30 Education. Such alternative schools may offer courses of 31 instruction for which credit is given in regular school 32 programs, courses to prepare students for the high school 33 equivalency testing program or vocational and occupational 34 training. A regional superintendent of schools may contract -21- LRB9101184NTsb 1 with a school district or a public community college district 2 to operate an alternative school. An alternative school 3 serving more than one educational service region may be 4 established by the regional superintendents of schools of 5thosethe affected educational service regions. An 6 alternative school serving more than one educational service 7 region may be operated under such terms as the regional 8 superintendents of schools of those educational service 9 regions may agree. 10 Each laboratory and alternative school shall file, on 11 forms provided by the State Superintendent of Education, an 12 annual State aid claim which states the Average Daily 13 Attendance of the school's students by month. The best 3 14 months' Average Daily Attendance shall be computed for each 15 school. The general State aid entitlement shall be computed 16 by multiplying the applicable Average Daily Attendance by the 17 Foundation Level as determined under this Section. 18 (L) Payments, Additional Grants in Aid and Other 19 Requirements. 20 (1) For a school district operating under the financial 21 supervision of an Authority created under Article 34A, the 22 general State aid otherwise payable to that district under 23 this Section, but not the supplemental general State aid, 24 shall be reduced by an amount equal to the budget for the 25 operations of the Authority as certified by the Authority to 26 the State Board of Education, and an amount equal to such 27 reduction shall be paid to the Authority created for such 28 district for its operating expenses in the manner provided in 29 Section 18-11. The remainder of general State school aid for 30 any such district shall be paid in accordance with Article 31 34A when that Article provides for a disposition other than 32 that provided by this Article. 33 (2) Impaction. Impaction payments shall be made as 34 provided for in Section 18-4.2. -22- LRB9101184NTsb 1 (3) Summer school. Summer school payments shall be made 2 as provided in Section 18-4.3. 3 (M) Education Funding Advisory Board. 4 The Education Funding Advisory Board, hereinafter in this 5 subsection (M) referred to as the "Board", is hereby created. 6 The Board shall consist of 5 members who are appointed by the 7 Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 8 The members appointed shall include representatives of 9 education, business, and the general public. One of the 10 members so appointed shall be designated by the Governor at 11 the time the appointment is made as the chairperson of the 12 Board. The initial members of the Board may be appointed any 13 time after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997. 14 The regular term of each member of the Board shall be for 4 15 years from the third Monday of January of the year in which 16 the term of the member's appointment is to commence, except 17 that of the 5 initial members appointed to serve on the 18 Board, the member who is appointed as the chairperson shall 19 serve for a term that commences on the date of his or her 20 appointment and expires on the third Monday of January, 2002, 21 and the remaining 4 members, by lots drawn at the first 22 meeting of the Board that is held after all 5 members are 23 appointed, shall determine 2 of their number to serve for 24 terms that commence on the date of their respective 25 appointments and expire on the third Monday of January, 2001, 26 and 2 of their number to serve for terms that commence on the 27 date of their respective appointments and expire on the third 28 Monday of January, 2000. All members appointed to serve on 29 the Board shall serve until their respective successors are 30 appointed and confirmed. Vacancies shall be filled in the 31 same manner as original appointments. If a vacancy in 32 membership occurs at a time when the Senate is not in 33 session, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment 34 until the next meeting of the Senate, when he or she shall -23- LRB9101184NTsb 1 appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a 2 person to fill that membership for the unexpired term. If 3 the Senate is not in session when the initial appointments 4 are made, those appointments shall be made as in the case of 5 vacancies. 6 The Education Funding Advisory Board shall be deemed 7 established, and the initial members appointed by the 8 Governor to serve as members of the Board shall take office, 9 on the date that the Governor makes his or her appointment of 10 the fifth initial member of the Board, whether those initial 11 members are then serving pursuant to appointment and 12 confirmation or pursuant to temporary appointments that are 13 made by the Governor as in the case of vacancies. 14 The State Board of Education shall provide such staff 15 assistance to the Education Funding Advisory Board as is 16 reasonably required for the proper performance by the Board 17 of its responsibilities. 18 For school years after the 2000-2001 school year, the 19 Education Funding Advisory Board, in consultation with the 20 State Board of Education, shall make recommendations as 21 provided in this subsection (M) to the General Assembly for 22 the foundation level under subdivision (B)(3) of this Section 23 and for the supplemental general State aid grant level under 24 subsection (H) of this Section for districts with high 25 concentrations of children from poverty. The recommended 26 foundation level shall be determined based on a methodology 27 which incorporates the basic education expenditures of 28 low-spending schools exhibiting high academic performance. 29 The Education Funding Advisory Board shall make such 30 recommendations to the General Assembly on January 1 of odd 31 numbered years, beginning January 1, 2001. 32 (N) General State Aid Adjustment Grant. 33 (1) Any school district subject to property tax 34 extension limitations as imposed under the provisions of the -24- LRB9101184NTsb 1 Property Tax Extension Limitation Law shall be entitled to 2 receive, subject to the qualifications and requirements of 3 this subsection, a general State aid adjustment grant. 4 Eligibility for this grant shall be determined on an annual 5 basis and claims for grant payments shall be paid subject to 6 appropriations made specific to this subsection. For 7 purposes of this subsection the following terms shall have 8 the following meanings: 9 "Budget Year": The school year for which general State 10 aid is calculated and awarded under subsection (E). 11 "Current Year": The school year immediately preceding 12 the Budget Year. 13 "Base Tax Year": The property tax levy year used to 14 calculate the Budget Year allocation of general State aid. 15 "Preceding Tax Year": The property tax levy year 16 immediately preceding the Base Tax Year. 17 "Extension Limitation Ratio": A numerical ratio, 18 certified by a school district's County Clerk, in which the 19 numerator is the Base Tax Year's tax extension amount 20 resulting from the Limiting Rate and the denominator is the 21 Preceding Tax Year's tax extension amount resulting from the 22 Limiting Rate. 23 "Limiting Rate": The limiting rate as defined in the 24 Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. 25 "Preliminary Tax Rate": The tax rate for all purposes 26 except bond and interest that would have been used to extend 27 those taxes absent the provisions of the Property Tax 28 Extension Limitation Law. 29 (2) To qualify for a general State aid adjustment grant, 30 a school district must meet all of the following eligibility 31 criteria for each Budget Year for which a grant is claimed: 32 (a) (Blank). 33 (b) The Preliminary Tax Rate of the school district 34 for the Base Tax Year was reduced by the Clerk of the -25- LRB9101184NTsb 1 County as a result of the requirements of the Property 2 Tax Extension Limitation Law. 3 (c) The Available Local Resources per pupil of the 4 school district as calculated pursuant to subsection (D) 5 using the Base Tax Year are less than the product of 1.75 6 times the Foundation Level for the Budget Year. 7 (d) The school district has filed a proper and 8 timely claim for a general State aid adjustment grant as 9 required under this subsection. 10 (3) A claim for grant assistance under this subsection 11 shall be filed with the State Board of Education on or before 12 April 1 of the Current Year for a grant for the Budget Year. 13 The claim shall be made on forms prescribed by the State 14 Board of Education and must be accompanied by a written 15 statement from the Clerk of the County, certifying: 16 (a) That the school district had its Preliminary 17 Tax Rate for the Base Tax Year reduced as a result of the 18 Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. 19 (b) (Blank). 20 (c) The Extension Limitation Ratio as that term is 21 defined in this subsection. 22 (4) On or before August 1 of the Budget Year the State 23 Board of Education shall calculate, for all school districts 24 meeting the other requirements of this subsection, the amount 25 of the general State aid adjustment grant, if any, that the 26 school districts are eligible to receive in the Budget Year. 27 The amount of the general State aid adjustment grant shall be 28 calculated as follows: 29 (a) Determine the school district's general State 30 aid grant for the Budget Year as provided in accordance 31 with the provisions of subsection (E). 32 (b) Determine the school district's adjusted level 33 of general State aid by utilizing in the calculation of 34 Available Local Resources the equalized assessed -26- LRB9101184NTsb 1 valuation that was used to calculate the general State 2 aid for the preceding fiscal year multiplied by the 3 Extension Limitation Ratio. 4 (c) Subtract the sum derived in subparagraph (a) 5 from the sum derived in subparagraph (b). If the result 6 is a positive number, that amount shall be the general 7 State aid adjustment grant that the district is eligible 8 to receive. 9 (5) The State Board of Education shall in the Current 10 Year, based upon claims filed in the Current Year, recommend 11 to the General Assembly an appropriation amount for the 12 general State aid adjustment grants to be made in the Budget 13 Year. 14 (6) Claims for general State aid adjustment grants shall 15 be paid in a lump sum on or before January 1 of the Budget 16 Year only from appropriations made by the General Assembly 17 expressly for claims under this subsection. No such claims 18 may be paid from amounts appropriated for any other purpose 19 provided for under this Section. In the event that the 20 appropriation for claims under this subsection is 21 insufficient to meet all Budget Year claims for a general 22 State aid adjustment grant, the appropriation available shall 23 be proportionately prorated by the State Board of Education 24 amongst all districts filing for and entitled to payments. 25 (7) The State Board of Education shall promulgate the 26 required claim forms and rules necessary to implement the 27 provisions of this subsection. 28 (O) References. 29 (1) References in other laws to the various subdivisions 30 of Section 18-8 as that Section existed before its repeal and 31 replacement by this Section 18-8.05 shall be deemed to refer 32 to the corresponding provisions of this Section 18-8.05, to 33 the extent that those references remain applicable. 34 (2) References in other laws to State Chapter 1 funds -27- LRB9101184NTsb 1 shall be deemed to refer to the supplemental general State 2 aid provided under subsection (H) of this Section. 3 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 7-1-98; incorporates 90-566; 4 90-653, eff. 7-29-98; 90-654, eff. 7-29-98; 90-655, eff. 5 7-30-98; 90-802, eff. 12-15-98; revised 12-24-98.) 6 (105 ILCS 5/19-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 19-1) 7 Sec. 19-1. Debt limitations of school districts. 8 (a) School districts shall not be subject to the 9 provisions limiting their indebtedness prescribed in "An Act 10 to limit the indebtedness of counties having a population of 11 less than 500,000 and townships, school districts and other 12 municipal corporations having a population of less than 13 300,000", approved February 15, 1928, as amended. 14 No school districts maintaining grades K through 8 or 9 15 through 12 shall become indebted in any manner or for any 16 purpose to an amount, including existing indebtedness, in the 17 aggregate exceeding 6.9% on the value of the taxable property 18 therein to be ascertained by the last assessment for State 19 and county taxes or, until January 1, 1983, if greater, the 20 sum that is produced by multiplying the school district's 21 1978 equalized assessed valuation by the debt limitation 22 percentage in effect on January 1, 1979, previous to the 23 incurring of such indebtedness. 24 No school districts maintaining grades K through 12 shall 25 become indebted in any manner or for any purpose to an 26 amount, including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate 27 exceeding 13.8% on the value of the taxable property therein 28 to be ascertained by the last assessment for State and county 29 taxes or, until January 1, 1983, if greater, the sum that is 30 produced by multiplying the school district's 1978 equalized 31 assessed valuation by the debt limitation percentage in 32 effect on January 1, 1979, previous to the incurring of such 33 indebtedness. -28- LRB9101184NTsb 1 Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the 2 contrary, in any case in which the voters of a school 3 district have approved a proposition for the issuance of 4 bonds of such school district at an election held prior to 5 January 1, 1979, and all of the bonds approved at such 6 election have not been issued, the debt limitation applicable 7 to such school district during the calendar year 1979 shall 8 be computed by multiplying the value of taxable property 9 therein, including personal property, as ascertained by the 10 last assessment for State and county taxes, previous to the 11 incurring of such indebtedness, by the percentage limitation 12 applicable to such school district under the provisions of 13 this subsection (a). 14 (b) Notwithstanding the debt limitation prescribed in 15 subsection (a) of this Section, additional indebtedness may 16 be incurred in an amount not to exceed the estimated cost of 17 acquiring or improving school sites or constructing and 18 equipping additional building facilities under the following 19 conditions: 20 (1) Whenever the enrollment of students for the 21 next school year is estimated by the board of education 22 to increase over the actual present enrollment by not 23 less than 35% or by not less than 200 students or the 24 actual present enrollment of students has increased over 25 the previous school year by not less than 35% or by not 26 less than 200 students and the board of education 27 determines that additional school sites or building 28 facilities are required as a result of such increase in 29 enrollment; and 30 (2) When the Regional Superintendent of Schools 31 having jurisdiction over the school district and the 32 State Superintendent of Education concur in such 33 enrollment projection or increase and approve the need 34 for such additional school sites or building facilities -29- LRB9101184NTsb 1 and the estimated cost thereof; and 2 (3) When the voters in the school district approve 3 a proposition for the issuance of bonds for the purpose 4 of acquiring or improving such needed school sites or 5 constructing and equipping such needed additional 6 building facilities at an election called and held for 7 that purpose. Notice of such an election shall state that 8 the amount of indebtedness proposed to be incurred would 9 exceed the debt limitation otherwise applicable to the 10 school district. The ballot for such proposition shall 11 state what percentage of the equalized assessed valuation 12 will be outstanding in bonds if the proposed issuance of 13 bonds is approved by the voters; or 14 (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 15 (1) through (3) of this subsection (b), if the school 16 board determines that additional facilities are needed to 17 provide a quality educational program and not less than 18 2/3 of those voting in an election called by the school 19 board on the question approve the issuance of bonds for 20 the construction of such facilities, the school district 21 may issue bonds for this purpose; or 22 (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 23 (1) through (3) of this subsection (b), if (i) the school 24 district has previously availed itself of the provisions 25 of paragraph (4) of this subsection (b) to enable it to 26 issue bonds, (ii) the voters of the school district have 27 not defeated a proposition for the issuance of bonds 28 since the referendum described in paragraph (4) of this 29 subsection (b) was held, (iii) the school board 30 determines that additional facilities are needed to 31 provide a quality educational program, and (iv) a 32 majority of those voting in an election called by the 33 school board on the question approve the issuance of 34 bonds for the construction of such facilities, the school -30- LRB9101184NTsb 1 district may issue bonds for this purpose. 2 In no event shall the indebtedness incurred pursuant to 3 this subsection (b) and the existing indebtedness of the 4 school district exceed 15% of the value of the taxable 5 property therein to be ascertained by the last assessment for 6 State and county taxes, previous to the incurring of such 7 indebtedness or, until January 1, 1983, if greater, the sum 8 that is produced by multiplying the school district's 1978 9 equalized assessed valuation by the debt limitation 10 percentage in effect on January 1, 1979. 11 The indebtedness provided for by this subsection (b) 12 shall be in addition to and in excess of any other debt 13 limitation. 14 (c) Notwithstanding the debt limitation prescribed in 15 subsection (a) of this Section, in any case in which a public 16 question for the issuance of bonds of a proposed school 17 district maintaining grades kindergarten through 12 received 18 at least 60% of the valid ballots cast on the question at an 19 election held on or prior to November 8, 1994, and in which 20 the bonds approved at such election have not been issued, the 21 school district pursuant to the requirements of Section 22 11A-10 may issue the total amount of bonds approved at such 23 election for the purpose stated in the question. 24 (d) Notwithstanding the debt limitation prescribed in 25 subsection (a) of this Section, a school district that meets 26 all the criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 27 subsection (d) may incur an additional indebtedness in an 28 amount not to exceed $4,500,000, even though the amount of 29 the additional indebtedness authorized by this subsection 30 (d), when incurred and added to the aggregate amount of 31 indebtedness of the district existing immediately prior to 32 the district incurring the additional indebtedness authorized 33 by this subsection (d), causes the aggregate indebtedness of 34 the district to exceed the debt limitation otherwise -31- LRB9101184NTsb 1 applicable to that district under subsection (a): 2 (1) The additional indebtedness authorized by this 3 subsection (d) is incurred by the school district through 4 the issuance of bonds under and in accordance with 5 Section 17-2.11a for the purpose of replacing a school 6 building which, because of mine subsidence damage, has 7 been closed as provided in paragraph (2) of this 8 subsection (d) or through the issuance of bonds under and 9 in accordance with Section 19-3 for the purpose of 10 increasing the size of, or providing for additional 11 functions in, such replacement school buildings, or both 12 such purposes. 13 (2) The bonds issued by the school district as 14 provided in paragraph (1) above are issued for the 15 purposes of construction by the school district of a new 16 school building pursuant to Section 17-2.11, to replace 17 an existing school building that, because of mine 18 subsidence damage, is closed as of the end of the 1992-93 19 school year pursuant to action of the regional 20 superintendent of schools of the educational service 21 region in which the district is located under Section 22 3-14.22 or are issued for the purpose of increasing the 23 size of, or providing for additional functions in, the 24 new school building being constructed to replace a school 25 building closed as the result of mine subsidence damage, 26 or both such purposes. 27 (e) Notwithstanding the debt limitation prescribed in 28 subsection (a) of this Section, a school district that meets 29 all the criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) of 30 this subsection (e) may, without referendum, incur an 31 additional indebtedness in an amount not to exceed the lesser 32 of $5,000,000 or 1.5% of the value of the taxable property 33 within the district even though the amount of the additional 34 indebtedness authorized by this subsection (e), when incurred -32- LRB9101184NTsb 1 and added to the aggregate amount of indebtedness of the 2 district existing immediately prior to the district incurring 3 that additional indebtedness, causes the aggregate 4 indebtedness of the district to exceed or increases the 5 amount by which the aggregate indebtedness of the district 6 already exceeds the debt limitation otherwise applicable to 7 that district under subsection (a): 8 (1) The State Board of Education certifies the 9 school district under Section 19-1.5 as a financially 10 distressed district. 11 (2) The additional indebtedness authorized by this 12 subsection (e) is incurred by the financially distressed 13 district during the school year or school years in which 14 the certification of the district as a financially 15 distressed district continues in effect through the 16 issuance of bonds for the lawful school purposes of the 17 district, pursuant to resolution of the school board and 18 without referendum, as provided in paragraph (5) of this 19 subsection. 20 (3) The aggregate amount of bonds issued by the 21 financially distressed district during a fiscal year in 22 which it is authorized to issue bonds under this 23 subsection does not exceed the amount by which the 24 aggregate expenditures of the district for operational 25 purposes during the immediately preceding fiscal year 26 exceeds the amount appropriated for the operational 27 purposes of the district in the annual school budget 28 adopted by the school board of the district for the 29 fiscal year in which the bonds are issued. 30 (4) Throughout each fiscal year in which 31 certification of the district as a financially distressed 32 district continues in effect, the district maintains in 33 effect a gross salary expense and gross wage expense 34 freeze policy under which the district expenditures for -33- LRB9101184NTsb 1 total employee salaries and wages do not exceed such 2 expenditures for the immediately preceding fiscal year. 3 Nothing in this paragraph, however, shall be deemed to 4 impair or to require impairment of the contractual 5 obligations, including collective bargaining agreements, 6 of the district or to impair or require the impairment of 7 the vested rights of any employee of the district under 8 the terms of any contract or agreement in effect on the 9 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1994. 10 (5) Bonds issued by the financially distressed 11 district under this subsection shall bear interest at a 12 rate not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by law at 13 the time of the making of the contract, shall mature 14 within 40 years from their date of issue, and shall be 15 signed by the president of the school board and treasurer 16 of the school district. In order to issue bonds under 17 this subsection, the school board shall adopt a 18 resolution fixing the amount of the bonds, the date of 19 the bonds, the maturities of the bonds, the rates of 20 interest of the bonds, and their place of payment and 21 denomination, and shall provide for the levy and 22 collection of a direct annual tax upon all the taxable 23 property in the district sufficient to pay the principal 24 and interest on the bonds to maturity. Upon the filing 25 in the office of the county clerk of the county in which 26 the financially distressed district is located of a 27 certified copy of the resolution, it is the duty of the 28 county clerk to extend the tax therefor in addition to 29 and in excess of all other taxes at any time authorized 30 to be levied by the district. If bond proceeds from the 31 sale of bonds include a premium or if the proceeds of the 32 bonds are invested as authorized by law, the school board 33 shall determine by resolution whether the interest earned 34 on the investment of bond proceeds or the premium -34- LRB9101184NTsb 1 realized on the sale of the bonds is to be used for any 2 of the lawful school purposes for which the bonds were 3 issued or for the payment of the principal indebtedness 4 and interest on the bonds. The proceeds of the bond sale 5 shall be deposited in the educational purposes fund of 6 the district and shall be used to pay operational 7 expenses of the district. This subsection is cumulative 8 and constitutes complete authority for the issuance of 9 bonds as provided in this subsection, notwithstanding any 10 other law to the contrary. 11 (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of 12 this Section or of any other law, bonds in not to exceed the 13 aggregate amount of $5,500,000 and issued by a school 14 district meeting the following criteria shall not be 15 considered indebtedness for purposes of any statutory 16 limitation and may be issued in an amount or amounts, 17 including existing indebtedness, in excess of any heretofore 18 or hereafter imposed statutory limitation as to indebtedness: 19 (1) At the time of the sale of such bonds, the 20 board of education of the district shall have determined 21 by resolution that the enrollment of students in the 22 district is projected to increase by not less than 7% 23 during each of the next succeeding 2 school years. 24 (2) The board of education shall also determine by 25 resolution that the improvements to be financed with the 26 proceeds of the bonds are needed because of the projected 27 enrollment increases. 28 (3) The board of education shall also determine by 29 resolution that the projected increases in enrollment are 30 the result of improvements made or expected to be made to 31 passenger rail facilities located in the school district. 32 (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of 33 this Section or any other law, bonds in not to exceed an 34 aggregate amount of 25% of the equalized assessed value of -35- LRB9101184NTsb 1 the taxable property of a school district and issued by a 2 school district meeting the criteria in paragraphs (i) 3 through (iv) of this subsection shall not be considered 4 indebtedness for purposes of any statutory limitation and may 5 be issued pursuant to resolution of the school board in an 6 amount or amounts, including existing indebtedness, in excess 7 of any statutory limitation of indebtedness heretofore or 8 hereafter imposed: 9 (i) The bonds are issued for the purpose of 10 constructing a new high school building to replace two 11 adjacent existing buildings which together house a single 12 high school, each of which is more than 65 years old, and 13 which together are located on more than 10 acres and less 14 than 11 acres of property. 15 (ii) At the time the resolution authorizing the 16 issuance of the bonds is adopted, the cost of 17 constructing a new school building to replace the 18 existing school building is less than 60% of the cost of 19 repairing the existing school building. 20 (iii) The sale of the bonds occurs before July 1, 21 1997. 22 (iv) The school district issuing the bonds is a 23 unit school district located in a county of less than 24 70,000 and more than 50,000 inhabitants, which has an 25 average daily attendance of less than 1,500 and an 26 equalized assessed valuation of less than $29,000,000. 27 (h) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 28 or the provisions of any other law, until January 1, 1998, a 29 community unit school district maintaining grades K through 30 12 may issue bonds up to an amount, including existing 31 indebtedness, not exceeding 27.6% of the equalized assessed 32 value of the taxable property in the district, if all of the 33 following conditions are met: 34 (i) The school district has an equalized assessed -36- LRB9101184NTsb 1 valuation for calendar year 1995 of less than 2 $24,000,000; 3 (ii) The bonds are issued for the capital 4 improvement, renovation, rehabilitation, or replacement 5 of existing school buildings of the district, all of 6 which buildings were originally constructed not less than 7 40 years ago; 8 (iii) The voters of the district approve a 9 proposition for the issuance of the bonds at a referendum 10 held after March 19, 1996; and 11 (iv) The bonds are issued pursuant to Sections 19-2 12 through 19-7 of this Code. 13 (i) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 14 or the provisions of any other law, until January 1, 1998, a 15 community unit school district maintaining grades K through 16 12 may issue bonds up to an amount, including existing 17 indebtedness, not exceeding 27% of the equalized assessed 18 value of the taxable property in the district, if all of the 19 following conditions are met: 20 (i) The school district has an equalized assessed 21 valuation for calendar year 1995 of less than 22 $44,600,000; 23 (ii) The bonds are issued for the capital 24 improvement, renovation, rehabilitation, or replacement 25 of existing school buildings of the district, all of 26 which existing buildings were originally constructed not 27 less than 80 years ago; 28 (iii) The voters of the district approve a 29 proposition for the issuance of the bonds at a referendum 30 held after December 31, 1996; and 31 (iv) The bonds are issued pursuant to Sections 19-2 32 through 19-7 of this Code. 33 (j) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 34 or the provisions of any other law, until January 1, 1999, a -37- LRB9101184NTsb 1 community unit school district maintaining grades K through 2 12 may issue bonds up to an amount, including existing 3 indebtedness, not exceeding 27% of the equalized assessed 4 value of the taxable property in the district if all of the 5 following conditions are met: 6 (i) The school district has an equalized assessed 7 valuation for calendar year 1995 of less than 8 $140,000,000 and a best 3 months average daily attendance 9 for the 1995-96 school year of at least 2,800; 10 (ii) The bonds are issued to purchase a site and 11 build and equip a new high school, and the school 12 district's existing high school was originally 13 constructed not less than 35 years prior to the sale of 14 the bonds; 15 (iii) At the time of the sale of the bonds, the 16 board of education determines by resolution that a new 17 high school is needed because of projected enrollment 18 increases; 19 (iv) At least 60% of those voting in an election 20 held after December 31, 1996 approve a proposition for 21 the issuance of the bonds; and 22 (v) The bonds are issued pursuant to Sections 19-2 23 through 19-7 of this Code. 24 (k) Notwithstanding the debt limitation prescribed in 25 subsection (a) of this Section, a school district that meets 26 all the criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 27 this subsection (k) may issue bonds to incur an additional 28 indebtedness in an amount not to exceed $4,000,000 even 29 though the amount of the additional indebtedness authorized 30 by this subsection (k), when incurred and added to the 31 aggregate amount of indebtedness of the school district 32 existing immediately prior to the school district incurring 33 such additional indebtedness, causes the aggregate 34 indebtedness of the school district to exceed or increases -38- LRB9101184NTsb 1 the amount by which the aggregate indebtedness of the 2 district already exceeds the debt limitation otherwise 3 applicable to that school district under subsection (a): 4 (1) the school district is located in 2 counties, 5 and a referendum to authorize the additional indebtedness 6 was approved by a majority of the voters of the school 7 district voting on the proposition to authorize that 8 indebtedness; 9 (2) the additional indebtedness is for the purpose 10 of financing a multi-purpose room addition to the 11 existing high school; 12 (3) the additional indebtedness, together with the 13 existing indebtedness of the school district, shall not 14 exceed 17.4% of the value of the taxable property in the 15 school district, to be ascertained by the last assessment 16 for State and county taxes; and 17 (4) the bonds evidencing the additional 18 indebtedness are issued, if at all, within 120 days of 19 the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1998. 20 (l) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 21 or the provisions of any other law, until January 1, 2000, a 22 school district maintaining grades kindergarten through 8 may 23 issue bonds up to an amount, including existing indebtedness, 24 not exceeding 15% of the equalized assessed value of the 25 taxable property in the district if all of the following 26 conditions are met: 27 (i) the district has an equalized assessed 28 valuation for calendar year 1996 of less than 29 $10,000,000; 30 (ii) the bonds are issued for capital improvement, 31 renovation, rehabilitation, or replacement of one or more 32 school buildings of the district, which buildings were 33 originally constructed not less than 70 years ago; 34 (iii) the voters of the district approve a -39- LRB9101184NTsb 1 proposition for the issuance of the bonds at a referendum 2 held on or after March 17, 1998; and 3 (iv) the bonds are issued pursuant to Sections 19-2 4 through 19-7 of this Code. 5 (m) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section 6 or the provisions of any other law, until January 1, 1999, an 7 elementary school district maintaining grades K through 8 may 8 issue bonds up to an amount, excluding existing indebtedness, 9 not exceeding 18% of the equalized assessed value of the 10 taxable property in the district, if all of the following 11 conditions are met: 12 (i) The school district has an equalized assessed 13 valuation for calendar year 1995 or less than $7,700,000; 14 (ii) The school district operates 2 elementary 15 attendance centers that until 1976 were operated as the 16 attendance centers of 2 separate and distinct school 17 districts; 18 (iii) The bonds are issued for the construction of 19 a new elementary school building to replace an existing 20 multi-level elementary school building of the school 21 district that is not handicapped accessible at all levels 22 and parts of which were constructed more than 75 years 23 ago; 24 (iv) The voters of the school district approve a 25 proposition for the issuance of the bonds at a referendum 26 held after July 1, 1998; and 27 (v) The bonds are issued pursuant to Sections 19-2 28 through 19-7 of this Code. 29 (n) Notwithstanding the debt limitation prescribed in 30 subsection (a) of this Section or any other provisions of 31 this Section or of any other law, a school district that 32 meets all of the criteria set forth in paragraphs (i) through 33 (vi) of this subsection (n) may incur additional indebtedness 34 by the issuance of bonds in an amount not exceeding the -40- LRB9101184NTsb 1 amount certified by the Capital Development Board to the 2 school district as provided in paragraph (iii) of this 3 subsection (n), even though the amount of the additional 4 indebtedness so authorized, when incurred and added to the 5 aggregate amount of indebtedness of the district existing 6 immediately prior to the district incurring the additional 7 indebtedness authorized by this subsection (n), causes the 8 aggregate indebtedness of the district to exceed the debt 9 limitation otherwise applicable by law to that district: 10 (i) The school district applies to the State Board 11 of Education for a school construction project grant and 12 submits a district facilities plan in support of its 13 application pursuant to Section 5-20 of the School 14 Construction Law. 15 (ii) The school district's application and 16 facilities plan are approved by, and the district 17 receives a grant entitlement for a school construction 18 project issued by, the State Board of Education under the 19 School Construction Law. 20 (iii) The school district has exhausted its bonding 21 capacity or the unused bonding capacity of the district 22 is less than the amount certified by the Capital 23 Development Board to the district under Section 5-15 of 24 the School Construction Law as the dollar amount of the 25 school construction project's cost that the district will 26 be required to finance with non-grant funds in order to 27 receive a school construction project grant under the 28 School Construction Law. 29 (iv) The bonds are issued for a "school 30 construction project", as that term is defined in Section 31 5-5 of the School Construction Law, in an amount that 32 does not exceed the dollar amount certified, as provided 33 in paragraph (iii) of this subsection (n), by the Capital 34 Development Board to the school district under Section -41- LRB9101184NTsb 1 5-15 of the School Construction Law. 2 (v) The voters of the district approve a 3 proposition for the issuance of the bonds at a referendum 4 held after the criteria specified in paragraphs (i) and 5 (iii) of this subsection (n) are met. 6 (vi) The bonds are issued pursuant to Sections 19-2 7 through 19-7 of this Code. 8 (Source: P.A. 89-47, eff. 7-1-95; 89-661, eff. 1-1-97; 9 89-698, eff. 1-14-97; 90-570, eff. 1-28-98; 90-757, eff. 10 8-14-98.) 11 Section 10. The School Construction Law is amended by 12 changing Sections 5-15 and 5-20 as follows: 13 (105 ILCS 230/5-15) 14 Sec. 5-15. Grant entitlements. The State Board of 15 Education is authorized to issue grant entitlements for 16 school construction projects and debt service and shall 17 determine the priority order for school construction project 18 grants to be made by the Capital Development Board. After the 19 State Board of Education issues a grant entitlement for a 20 school construction project, the Capital Development Board 21 shall, upon request of the district, certify to the district 22 pursuant to subsection (n) of Section 19-1 of the School Code 23 the dollar amount of the school construction project's cost 24 that the district will be required to finance with non-grant 25 funds in order to qualify to receive a school construction 26 project grant under this Article from the Capital Development 27 Board. 28 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.) 29 (105 ILCS 230/5-20) 30 Sec. 5-20. Grant application; district facilities plan. 31 School districts shall apply to the State Board of Education -42- LRB9101184NTsb 1 for school construction project grants and debt service 2 grants. Districts filing grant applications shall submit to 3 the State Board a district facilities plan that shall 4 include, but not be limited to, an assessment of present and 5 future district facility needs as required by present and 6 anticipated educational programming, the availability of 7 local financial resources including current revenues, fund 8 balances, and unused bonding capacity, a fiscal plan for 9 meeting present and anticipated debt service obligations, and 10 a maintenance plan and schedule that contain necessary 11 assurances that new, renovated, and existing facilities are 12 being or will be properly maintained. If a district that 13 applies for a school construction project grant has no unused 14 bonding capacity or if its unused bonding capacity may be 15 less than the portion of the cost of the proposed school 16 construction project that the district would be required to 17 finance with non-grant funds, the application and facilities 18 plan submitted by the district shall set forth the estimated 19 amount of the project's cost that the district proposes to 20 finance by the issuance of bonds under subsection (n) of 21 Section 19-1 of the School Code. The State Board of Education 22 shall review and approve district facilities plans prior to 23 issuing grant entitlements. Each district that receives a 24 grant entitlement shall annually update its district 25 facilities plan and submit the revised plan to the State 26 Board for approval. 27 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.) 28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 29 becoming law.