Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
                   FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2021
Legislative Document                                                                        No. 566
H.P. 411                                                 House of Representatives, February 24, 2021
           An Act To Address Labor Market Inequities in the School Funding
           Formula
    Received by the Clerk of the House on February 22, 2021. Referred to the Committee on
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to
Joint Rule 401.
                                                                                ROBERT B. HUNT
                                                                                           Clerk
Presented by Representative TUELL of East Machias.
                                        Printed on recycled paper
 1   Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
 2       Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §15682, as amended by PL 2011, c. 419, §2, is further amended
 3   to read:
 4   §15682. Regional adjustment
 5       The commissioner shall make a regional adjustment in the total operating allocation
 6   for each school administrative unit determined pursuant to section 15683. The regional
 7   adjustment must be based on the regional differences in teacher salary costs, for labor
 8   market areas in which the school administrative unit is located, as computed by a statewide
 9   education policy research institute, and must be applied only to appropriate teacher salary
10   and benefits costs as calculated under section 15678 and salary and benefit costs of other
11   school-level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679. Beginning in
12   fiscal year 2012-13, and for each subsequent fiscal year, Except as provided in this section,
13   the commissioner shall make a regional adjustment in the total operating allocation for each
14   school administrative unit determined pursuant to section 15683. The regional adjustment
15   must be based on the regional differences in teacher salary costs, for labor market areas in
16   which the school administrative unit is located, as computed by a statewide education
17   policy research institute, and must be applied only to appropriate teacher salary costs as
18   calculated under section 15678 and salary costs of other school-level staff who are not
19   teachers as calculated under section 15679.
20       Beginning in fiscal year 2024-25 and for each subsequent fiscal year, the commissioner
21   may not make a regional adjustment that results in a decrease in a school administrative
22   unit's allocation for teacher salary costs under section 15678 and salary costs of other
23   school-level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679. For any school
24   administrative unit for which the regional adjustment for fiscal year 2021-22 in the total
25   operating allocation determined pursuant to section 15683 results in a decrease in the unit's
26   allocation for teacher salary costs under section 15678 and salary costs of other school-
27   level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679, the commissioner shall
28   reduce the adjustment incrementally in fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 to transition from
29   the fiscal year 2021-22 adjustment amount to zero by fiscal year 2024-25. For any school
30   administrative unit for which the regional adjustment for fiscal year 2021-22 in the total
31   operating allocation determined pursuant to section 15683 results in an increase in the unit's
32   allocation for teacher salary costs under section 15678 and salary costs of other school-
33   level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679, the commissioner shall
34   set the adjustment in fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the amount of the
35   adjustment in fiscal year 2021-2022.
36                                          SUMMARY
37        This bill requires that, beginning in fiscal year 2024-25, when the Commissioner of
38   Education makes the regional adjustment in the total operating allocation for each school
39   administrative unit, also known as the labor market adjustment, the commissioner may not
40   make an adjustment in the total operating allocation that decreases a school administrative
41   unit's allocation for teacher and other school-level staff salary costs. The bill also requires
42   the commissioner to reduce the adjustment incrementally to zero between fiscal years
43   2021-22 and 2024-25 for any school administrative unit for which the regional adjustment
44   in fiscal year 2021-22 results in a decrease in the unit's allocation for teacher and other
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45
 1   school-level staff salary costs. Finally, the bill requires the commissioner to maintain the
46
 2   adjustment amount at the fiscal year 2021-22 amount for the subsequent 3 fiscal years for
47
 3   any school administrative unit for which the adjustment in fiscal year 2021-22 results in an
48
 4   increase in the unit's allocation for teacher and other school-level staff salary costs.
                                        Page 2 - 130LR1125(01)
Statutes affected: 
Bill Text LD 566, HP 411: 20-A.15682