School Finance Synopsis

 

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E. Foundation Program Entitlement

  

1. Foundation Program Guarantee Amount

  

The MAP model computes an amount per ADM, which is adjusted and revised as previously discussed.  Once the final adjustments are made, the revised ADM amount for each district is multiplied by the district's three-year rolling average ADM and amounts based upon 100% of prior year expenditures are added-on.  This computation determines the foundation program amount for each district, which is referred to as the guarantee amount.  The guarantee amount is then compared to a number of revenues available to school districts to operate public schools, which comparison determines the foundation program entitlement (payment) for each district or the amount of recapture to be paid to the state by a district.

  

2. District Local Resources

  

The revenues available to school districts which are considered in determining each district's foundation program entitlement, or recapture amount, are referred to as local resources.  These local resources are identified as follows:

  

a)        Countywide levy.  The district's portion of the countywide six mill school levy, which is distributed to districts according to the district's percentage of countywide ADM for the prior school year;

b)        District levy.  Revenues generated under the district-wide twenty-five mill school levy;

c)         Fines and penalties.  The Wyoming Constitution provides that all fines and penalties belong to the public schools, which are distributed to districts based upon each district’s percentage of countywide ADM;

d)        Forest reserve funds.  Each county receives federal forest reserve funds based upon total forest reserve acreage, which is then distributed to schools and roads within the county;

e)        Taylor Grazing Act.  Federal revenues accruing to the state under the Taylor Grazing Act are apportioned to districts by the county treasurer based upon revenues from lands located within each district;

f)           Motor vehicle county registration fees.  County motor vehicle registration fees are distributed to districts by the county treasurer in the same proportion as the combined county and district school tax levies compare to the total county property tax levy;

g)        Tuition payments.  Payments received by districts for nonresident students attending school in the district, and payments for other educational programs for which a fee is assessed such as adult education and summer school, if the tuition and fees exceed program costs;

h)         Delinquent tax penalty and interest.  The district's portion of distributions of penalties and interest collected on delinquent property taxes as distributed by the county treasurer;

i)           Car company taxes.  The district's share of the tax on railroad car companies based upon the ratio that track mileage within the district bears to the total track mileage within the county;

j)           Property sales.  Amounts received by the district for the sale of real or personal property not owned by the district prior to July 1, 1997;

k)         Cash reserves/operating balances.[1]  Any cash reserves and operating balances held by a district which are in excess of 15% of the district's guarantee at the end of the prior fiscal year;

l)           Exclusions.[2]  Excluded from local resource computations are amounts received by a district from private contributions and gifts, interest, capital gains and other earnings on funds held by the district, amounts dedicated to payment of bonded indebtedness and amounts received from district imposed fees or other charges for goods and services such as rental fees and admission fees for recreation, entertainment or athletic events.

    

District local resource computations for determining the amount of entitlement or recapture are generally based upon receipts during the preceding school year.  However, property tax revenues are treated differently.  An estimate of property tax collections under the county six mill school levy and the twenty-five mill district levy is used for the school year for which the determination of local resources is to be made.  This estimate is certified by the State Board of Equalization for that school year.  Actual tax collections for that year are then compared to the tax estimates included in the local resource computation.  If actual amounts are less than the estimated amount, the difference will be paid to the district from the foundation account by August 15 of the next succeeding school year, provided the payment together with other local resource revenues actually received by the district for that school year does not exceed the guarantee amount computed for the district for the same school year.  If actual tax collections exceed the estimated collections, the excess amount is reported as a local resource during the next succeeding school year.

 

3. Foundation Program Entitlement Payment

If the guarantee amount exceeds local resources, the state makes up the difference from the foundation account.  This payment from the state is referred to as the entitlement.  The first allotment of the entitlement, equal to one-third of the total entitlement amount, is determined and distributed by the State Department on or before August 15 of each year.  Subject to any recalculation of ADM as earlier described, and to any adjustments for actual property tax collections and for cash reserves/operating balances, the remaining entitlement amounts are distributed equally on October 15 and February 15.

  

4. Recapture

If the local resources of a district exceed the district's guarantee amount, the excess is recaptured by the state and deposited into the foundation account.  Such a district becomes a recapture district.  On average, relatively few districts have been subject to recapture.

  

The Wyoming Constitution provides a limitation on the amount which may be recaptured from any district, which is a separate calculation computed by the State Department.  At this time, it appears this limitation will not be approached by any district.

  

DISCUSSION:  Under the classroom unit-based foundation program, recapture was determined differently.  Essentially, recapture districts were allowed to keep nine percent of the amount by which local resources exceeded the guarantee.  This created a situation whereby the local resources of certain districts exceeded 100% of the guarantee, but the excess was less than 109% of the guarantee.  These districts were referred to as gray area districts because they were not required to pay any excess amount to the state.