PRINTER'S NO. 2616
No. 2014 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY VEON, WALKO, BELARDI, LaGROTTA, M. COHEN, DEMPSEY,
STABACK, STEIL, CARONE, STURLA, TANGRETTI, MELIO, BOSCOLA,
LEVDANSKY, RAMOS, MAITLAND, VAN HORNE, ROBERTS, TRICH,
MICHLOVIC AND KIRKLAND, NOVEMBER 25, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, NOVEMBER 25, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," providing for mergers of school
6 districts and for payments and subsidies.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
11 section to read:
12 Section 261.1. Mandated Mergers of School Districts.--(a)
13 The State Board of Education shall, in accordance with
14 provisions of this section, have the power to order the merger
15 of any two or more school districts having a common boundary or
16 boundaries as it deems wise and in the best interest of the
17 educational system of the Commonwealth.
18 (b) The State Board of Education, within six months of the
19 effective date of this amendatory act, shall adopt standards for
1 implementation of this section. The standards shall identify
2 criteria for mergers of school districts. Upon completion, the
3 standards shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. When
4 adopting the standards, the State Board of Education shall
5 consider the following factors: declining population trends in
6 the school districts, average daily student membership of the
7 school districts, population density of the school districts,
8 the financial condition of the school districts, transportation
9 time for students and any other factors the State Board of
10 Education deems necessary and appropriate.
11 (c) No later than January 31, 1999, and every thirty-first
12 day of January thereafter, the State Board of Education shall
13 submit a written list of school districts to be merged to the
14 General Assembly and to the superintendent and the president of
15 the school board of school directors of the school districts
16 included on the list. Each merger proposal included on the list
17 shall name the school districts to be merged and identify the
18 criteria used to determine the merger: Provided, however, That
19 only criteria for mergers promulgated by the State Board of
20 Education under this subsection shall be considered in the
21 determination.
22 (d) Upon receiving the list from the State Board of
23 Education, the General Assembly may, by concurrent resolution,
24 nullify any school merger or mergers of school districts
25 proposed therein. Immediately upon the concurrent resolution by
26 the General Assembly, the State Board of Education shall cause
27 the nullified merger or mergers to be removed from the list. The
28 removal shall ensure that any proposed merger nullified by the
29 General Assembly is not considered by the State Board of
30 Education.
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1 (e) Any two or more school districts designated for merger
2 on the State Board of Education's list pursuant to subsection
3 (c) of this section may merge voluntarily in accordance with
4 section 224 of this act: Provided, That the State Board of
5 Education has not already notified the school districts and
6 initiated the merger process under subsection (g) of this
7 section:--
8 (1) The State Board of Education shall, upon the filing of
9 an application for approval of voluntary merger by the school
10 districts in accordance with section 224 of this act, cause the
11 school districts to be removed from the list. If the application
12 is not approved by the State Board of Education, the school
13 districts shall remain on the merger list;
14 (2) Any school districts which have merged voluntarily to
15 create a new school district under the conditions of this
16 subsection shall be eligible for the subsidy incentive offered
17 to certain merged school districts pursuant to section 2597 of
18 this act.
19 (f) The Department of Education shall cooperate with the
20 State Board of Education by offering statistical, financial and
21 any other information pertaining to school districts the State
22 Board of Education deems useful during the development of the
23 standards and of the annual list required under this section.
24 (g) Exactly one year following the submission of the list
25 for proposed school district mergers under subsection (c) of
26 this section, the State Board of Education may initiate the
27 merger process for districts designated on the list. The merger
28 process shall be administered by the State Board of Education in
29 the following manner: at least six months prior to any order for
30 the merger of school districts by the State Board of Education,
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1 the State Board of Education shall notify the superintendents
2 and presidents of the school boards of the affected districts.
3 The notification shall be in written form and shall enumerate
4 the specific reason or reasons for merger:--
5 (1) In addition to the required notification, the State
6 Board of Education shall hold at least one hearing prior to the
7 merger of any school districts at which an opportunity to be
8 heard shall be afforded to all affected parties in accordance
9 with 2 Pa.C.S. (relating to administrative law and procedure);
10 (2) The State Board of Education, after proper hearing and
11 after reviewing all evidence presented in conformity with its
12 established criteria, may order the merger of the affected
13 districts if it deems the action wise and in the best interest
14 of the educational system of the Commonwealth;
15 (3) The decision of the State Board of Education shall be
16 final unless, within thirty (30) days of the decision of the
17 State Board of Education, an appeal shall have been taken in
18 accordance with 2 Pa.C.S. or if the General Assembly shall adopt
19 a concurrent resolution with thirty (30) days of the decision of
20 the State Board of Education disapproving the merger or mergers
21 ordered by the State Board of Education. The concurrent
22 resolution by the General Assembly shall negate any merger or
23 mergers of school districts ordered by the State Board of
24 Education.
25 (h) In the event of a merger pursuant to this section, all
26 employes of the two or more former districts shall become
27 employes of the merged school district: Provided, however, That
28 the employes shall serve under the terms and conditions of the
29 collective bargaining agreement applicable to the positions they
30 are filling, negotiated by the former district with the lowest
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1 aid ratio. Where not covered by a collective bargaining
2 agreement, the collective bargaining agreement of the other
3 district shall apply. In cases of more than two merging
4 districts, the collective bargaining agreement of the district
5 with the lowest aid ratio shall apply. The collective bargaining
6 agreement shall be binding upon the merged school district and
7 shall remain in force until its expiration date, or if it has
8 already expired and has been extended by agreement of the former
9 district, until the deadline for extension is reached: Provided,
10 That nothing in this section shall preclude the merged school
11 district from agreeing to further extensions of the expired
12 collective bargaining agreement until such time as the merged
13 school district negotiates and ratifies a new collective
14 bargaining agreement.
15 (i) In the event of a merger pursuant to this section, all
16 employes shall retain the seniority rights they had prior to the
17 merger. Employes of the merged school district shall be credited
18 with their sick leave and also for their years of service in
19 their former school districts, the latter for purposes of
20 sabbatical leave eligibility and placement on the salary
21 schedule.
22 (j) In the event of a merger pursuant to this section, no
23 professional employe shall be suspended from a merged school
24 district during the duration of the collective bargaining
25 agreement in force pursuant to subsection (h) of this section,
26 if the result of the suspension would be to increase class size
27 in any class or course in the former districts in the year
28 immediately preceding the effective date of the merger.
29 (k) If the provisions of this section conflict with any
30 other statute, ordinance, regulation or rule, the provisions of
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1 this section shall control.
2 (l) The new school district shall become operative on the
3 first day of July next following the order of the State Board of
4 Education.
5 Section 2. Section 2517(d) of the act, amended June 7, 1993
6 (P.L.49, No.16), is amended to read:
7 Section 2517. Payments.--* * *
8 (d) Subsection (c) of this section shall apply to:
9 (1) All payments to which a school district is entitled
10 under any provision of sections 2502, 2502.3, 2502.4, 2502.8,
11 2502.9 and 2592 for the school year 1981-1982.
12 (2) Payments to which a school district is entitled under
13 any provision of sections 2502, 2502.8 and 2502.11 for the
14 school year 1982-1983 and the school year 1983-1984.
15 (3) Payments to which a school district is entitled under
16 any provision of sections 2502, 2502.8, 2502.11, 2502.13 and
17 2502.20 for the school [year 1984-1985 and each school year
18 thereafter.] years 1984-1985, 1985-1986, 1986-1987, 1987-1988,
19 1988-1989, 1989-1990, 1991-1992, 1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1994-1995
20 and 1995-1996.
21 (4) Payments to which a school district is entitled under
22 any provision of sections 2502, 2502.8, 2502.11, 2502.13,
23 2502.20 and 2597 for the school year 1997-1998 and each school
24 year thereafter.
25 Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
26 Section 2598. Subsidy Incentives Payable to Certain Merged
27 School Districts.--(a) The provisions of this section shall be
28 applicable to any school district created by the voluntary
29 merger of two or more former school districts created on or
30 after July 1, 1999, in accordance with the provisions of section
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1 224 of this act: Provided, however, That at least one of the
2 former school districts had fewer than one thousand five hundred
3 (1,500) students in average daily membership of its existence
4 and was less than twenty-five (25) square miles in size or the
5 former school districts which merged voluntarily to create a new
6 school district in accordance with the provisions of this act.
7 (b) The subsidy incentive provided for in this section shall
8 be paid to all qualified school districts in addition to any
9 other subsidies to which the districts shall be entitled:
10 Provided, however, That the subsidy incentive shall not be
11 considered to be part of any school district's equalized subsidy
12 for basic education and shall not be considered in the
13 computation of any school district's subsidy entitlements in
14 future years.
15 (c) A subsidy incentive shall be computed as follows:
16 (1) During the first four years of existence of a qualifying
17 district, the Department of Education shall compute and pay the
18 district the equalized subsidy for basic education to which it
19 is entitled, according to the provisions of sections 2501, 2502,
20 2502.5 and 2502.11, in addition to which the department shall
21 compute and pay the subsidy incentive provided for in clause (2)
22 during the first such year, in clause (3) during the second such
23 year, in clause (4) during the third such year and in clause (5)
24 during the fourth such year.
25 (2) During the first year of existence of a qualified
26 district, the department shall pay a subsidy incentive that is
27 twenty percent (20%) of the equalized subsidy for basic
28 education amount provided for in clause (1).
29 (3) During the second year of existence of a qualified
30 district, the department shall pay a subsidy enhancement that is
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1 fifteen percent (15%) of the equalized subsidy for basic
2 education amount provided for in clause (1).
3 (4) During the third year of existence of a qualified
4 district, the department shall pay a subsidy incentive that is
5 ten percent (10%) of the equalized subsidy for basic education
6 amount provided for in clause (1).
7 (5) During the fourth year of existence of a qualified
8 district, the department shall pay a subsidy incentive that is
9 five percent (5%) of the equalized subsidy for basic education
10 amount provided for in clause (1).
11 (6) During the fifth year of existence of a qualified
12 district, the department shall compute and pay the district only
13 the amount of equalized subsidy for basic education to which it
14 is entitled, in accordance with the provisions cited in clause
15 (1).
16 (d) Annually, the Secretary of Education in the secretary's
17 initial budget request shall report to the Governor on voluntary
18 mergers anticipated the following year which would qualify
19 districts for the subsidy incentive provided for in this
20 section, along with an estimate of the appropriation needed to
21 meet the requirements of this section. Annually, the Governor
22 shall include the information in the Governor's budget message
23 to the General Assembly.
24 (e) Any funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the
25 purposes of this section which, at the end of any year, remain
26 unexpended shall be lapsed in accordance with the provisions of
27 section 621 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
28 as "The Administrative Code of 1929."
29 (f) If the provisions of this section conflict with any
30 other statute, ordinance, regulation or rule, the provisions of
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1 this section shall control.
2 Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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