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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 23, 2015 01:41 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Anthony M. DeLuca |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Unreserved fund balances for charter and cyber charter schools (HB 372 of 2013) |
| I will be re-introducing House Bill 372 of 2013, regarding unreserved fund balances for charter and cyber charter schools. Our public schools are facing severe and, in some cases, dire budget decisions brought on by a myriad of causes. While the reasons are many, the real and practical solutions available to them to resolve these problems are few. Many districts are looking deep into their budgets, being forced to cut necessary programs and laying off staff. In an effort to level the playing field, my bill would prohibit payments from being made to charter or cyber charter schools unless those schools have adopted a budget that includes an estimated unreserved, undesignated fund balance that is less than 5% of their total budgeted expenditures. At a time when our districts are being forced to dig deeply into their own fund balances, and I believe as a matter of equity, charter and cyber charter schools should be required to use their available funds for programs and instruction of children, instead of stockpiling large fund balances. These unreserved balances are taxpayer funds and should remain with the taxpayers if they are not being used to educate our children. No one wants to raise taxes on our property owners yet some school boards have no choice. I believe we must offer any and all avenues to minimize property tax increases. We must help our school districts find, recover or recoup every single dollar they can, to avoid our homeowners and businesses facing even higher tax bills. I invite you to join me as a co-sponsor of this legislation. |
Introduced as HB275