CT Gen Stat § 10-262j (2020)
2020 Connecticut General Statutes|Title 10 - Education and Culture|Chapter 172 - Support of Public Schools. Transportation|Section 10-262j - Minimum budget requirement.

 (a) Except as otherwise provided under the provisions of subsections (c) to (g), inclusive, of this section, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, the budgeted appropriation for education shall be not less than the budgeted appropriation for education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, plus any aid increase described in subsection (d) of section 10-262i, except that a town may reduce its budgeted appropriation for education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, by one or more of the following:(1) If a town experiences an aid reduction, as described in subsection (d) of section 10-262i, such town may reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in an amount equal to the aid reduction;(2) If a district experiences a net reduction in its resident student count during a period that may include any of the five fiscal years immediately prior to the fiscal year for which the budgeted appropriation for education is calculated, such district may reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in an amount equal to the number of such net reduction multiplied by fifty per cent of the net current expenditures per resident student of such district, provided no district may use the resident student count for any fiscal year that was previously used to reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in any calculation of a net reduction of resident students for purposes of reducing its budgeted appropriation for education pursuant to this subdivision for any subsequent fiscal year;(3) Any district (A) that does not maintain a high school and pays tuition to another school district pursuant to section 10-33 for resident students to attend high school in another district, and (B) in which the number of resident students attending high school for such district for October 1, 2018, using the data of record as of January 31, 2019, is lower than such district's number of resident students attending high school for October 1, 2017, using the data of record as of January 31, 2019, may reduce such district's budgeted appropriation for education by the difference in the number of resident students attending high school for such years multiplied by the amount of tuition paid per student pursuant to section 10-33; or(4) Any district that realizes new and documentable savings through (A) increased district efficiencies approved by the Commissioner of Education, including, but not limited to, (i) reductions in costs associated with transportation services, school district administration or contracts that are not the result of collective bargaining or other labor agreements, (ii) an agreement to provide medical or health care benefits pursuant to section 7-464b, (iii) a cooperative agreement relating to the performance of administrative and central office functions, such as business manager functions, for the municipality and the school district pursuant to section 10-241b, (iv) reductions in costs associated with the purchasing or joint purchasing of property insurance, casualty insurance and workers' compensation insurance, following the consultation with the legislative body of the municipality of such district pursuant to section 10-241c, (v) reductions in costs associated with the purchasing of payroll processing or accounts payable software systems, following the consultation with the legislative body of the municipality of such district to determine whether such systems may be purchased or shared on a regional basis pursuant to section 10-241e, (vi) consolidation of information technology services, and (vii) reductions in costs associated with the care and maintenance of athletic fields, or (B) regional collaboration or cooperative arrangements pursuant to section 10-158a may reduce such district's budgeted appropriation for education in an amount equal to half of the amount of savings experienced as a result of such district efficiencies, regional collaboration or cooperative arrangement, provided such reduction shall not exceed one-half of one per cent of the district's budgeted appropriation for education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019.(b) Except as otherwise provided under the provisions of subsections (c) to (g), inclusive, of this section, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, a town's budgeted appropriation for education shall be not less than the budgeted appropriation for education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, plus any aid increase received pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-262i, except that a town may reduce its budgeted appropriation for education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, by one or more of the following:(1) If a town experiences an aid reduction, as described in subsection (d) of section 10-262i, such town may reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in an amount equal to the aid reduction;(2) If a district experiences a net reduction in its resident student count during a period that may include any of the five fiscal years immediately prior to the fiscal year for which the budgeted appropriation for education is calculated, such district may reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in an amount equal to the number of such net reduction multiplied by fifty per cent of the net current expenditures per resident student of such district, provided no district may use the resident student count for any fiscal year that was previously used to reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in any calculation of a net reduction of resident students for purposes of reducing its budgeted appropriation for education pursuant to this subdivision for any subsequent fiscal year;(3) Any district (A) that does not maintain a high school and pays tuition to another school district pursuant to section 10-33 for resident students to attend high school in another district, and (B) in which the number of resident students attending high school for such district for October 1, 2019, using the data of record as of January 31, 2020, is lower than such district's number of resident students attending high school for October 1, 2018, using the data of record as of January 31, 2020, may reduce such district's budgeted appropriation for education by the difference in the number of resident students attending high school for such years multiplied by the amount of tuition paid per student pursuant to section 10-33; or(4) Any district that realizes new and documentable savings through (A) increased district efficiencies approved by the Commissioner of Education, including, but not limited to, (i) reductions in costs associated with transportation services, school district administration or contracts that are not the result of collective bargaining or other labor agreements, (ii) an agreement to provide medical or health care benefits pursuant to section 7-464b, (iii) a cooperative agreement relating to the performance of administrative and central office functions, such as business manager functions, for the municipality and the school district pursuant to section 10-241b, (iv) reductions in costs associated with the purchasing or joint purchasing of property insurance, casualty insurance and workers' compensation insurance, following the consultation with the legislative body of the municipality of such district pursuant to section 10-241c, (v) reductions in costs associated with the purchasing of payroll processing or accounts payable software systems, following the consultation with the legislative body of the municipality of such district to determine whether such systems may be purchased or shared on a regional basis pursuant to section 10-241e, (vi) consolidation of information technology services, and (vii) reductions in costs associated with the care and maintenance of athletic fields, or (B) regional collaboration or cooperative arrangements pursuant to section 10-158a, may reduce such district's budgeted appropriation for education in an amount equal to half of the amount of savings experienced as a result of such district efficiencies, regional collaboration or cooperative arrangement, provided such reduction shall not exceed one-half of one per cent of the district's budgeted appropriation for education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020.(c) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, the Commissioner of Education may permit a town to reduce its budgeted appropriation for education in an amount determined by the commissioner if the school district in such town has permanently ceased operations and closed one or more schools in the school district due to declining enrollment at such closed school or schools in the fiscal years ending June 30, 2013, to June 30, 2020, inclusive.(d) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, a town designated as an alliance district, as defined in section 10-262u, shall not reduce its budgeted appropriation for education pursuant to this section.(e) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, the provisions of this section shall not apply to any district that is in the top ten per cent of school districts based on the accountability index, as defined in section 10-223e.(f) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the member towns of a regional school district during the first full fiscal year following the establishment of the regional school district, provided the budgeted appropriation for education for member towns of such regional school district for each subsequent fiscal year shall be determined in accordance with this section.(g) For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, any district that has (1) elected to act as a self-insurer, pursuant to section 10-236, (2) experienced a loss incurred as a result of one or more catastrophic events, as declared by a nationally recognized catastrophe loss index provider, during the prior fiscal year, and (3) increased its budgeted appropriation for education during said prior fiscal year as a result of such loss, shall not be required to include the amount of such increase in the calculation of such district's budgeted appropriation for education for the subsequent fiscal year.(P.A. 88-358, S. 4, 9; P.A. 89-124, S. 6, 13; P.A. 92-262, S. 27, 42; P.A. 93-145, S. 2, 3, 6; P.A. 94-245, S. 35, 46; P.A. 95-226, S. 3, 4, 7, 30; P.A. 97-318, S. 4, 12; P.A. 99-217, S. 6, 8; P.A. 00-187, S. 14, 21, 75; P.A. 01-173, S. 62, 67; P.A. 03-76, S. 23; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 25; P.A. 05-245, S. 30; P.A. 06-135, S. 5; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 64; P.A. 15-99, S. 1; 15-215, S. 19; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 511; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 125; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 252; P.A. 18-1, S. 2; P.A. 19-117, S. 271.)History: P.A. 89-124 in Subsec. (e) added forfeiture provisions and a minimum expenditure requirement for kindergarten to grade twelve, inclusive, regional school districts and added new Subsec. (g) re definition of “total need students” for purposes of the section; P.A. 92-262 amended Subsecs. (a), (c) and (f) to add fiscal year 1993, added Subsec. (b)(4), and amended Subsec. (d) to substitute 1994 for 1993; P.A. 93-145 added Subsec. (b)(5) re the amount of aid for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1994, and each fiscal year thereafter and amended Subsec. (d) to make the existing Subsec. Subdiv. (1), limited the applicability of said Subdiv. to the fiscal year ending June 30, 1994, added the “greater of the” existing requirement or the sum of the items described in Subparas. (A) and (B) and added the exception language, and added Subdiv. (2) concerning program expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1995, and for each fiscal year thereafter, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-245 amended Subsec. (e) to add provision that any additional funds expended pursuant to an agreement between the State Board of Education and a kindergarten to grade twelve, inclusive, regional school district shall not be included in a district's expenditures for the purpose of establishing any future minimum expenditure requirement, effective June 2, 1994; P.A. 95-226 added Subsec. (b)(6) and (7) re the fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, and June 30, 1997, amended Subsec. (d) to limit Subdiv. (2) to the fiscal year ending June 30, 1995, and added Subdiv. (3) concerning the fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, and June 30, 1997, and added Subsec. (f)(2) re fiscal years ending June 30, 1996, and June 30, 1997, and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-318 amended Subsecs. (b) and (d) to add provisions re the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, and the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, respectively, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-217 added Subsec. (d)(6) and (7) re expenditures for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2000, and June 30, 2001, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-187 added Subsec. (b)(10) re fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, and each fiscal year thereafter and amended Subsec. (d)(7)(C) to add the clause “if the resident student count for October 1999, is less than the resident student count for October 1998”, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 added Subsec. (d)(8) and (9) re fiscal years ending June 30, 2002, and June 30, 2003, respectively, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 03-76 made technical changes in Subsec. (e), effective June 3, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 added Subsec. (d)(10) and (11) re fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-245 added Subsec. (d)(12) re minimum expenditure for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-135 added Subsec. (d)(13) re minimum expenditure for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, effective July 1, 2006; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 deleted former Subsec. (e) re forfeitures, redesignated existing Subsecs. (f) and (g) as Subsecs. (e) and (f) and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 15-99 replaced former provisions re minimum expenditure requirements with new Subsecs. (a) to (e) re minimum budget requirement, effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 15-215 added Subsec. (f) re provisions of section not applicable to member towns of a regional school district during first full fiscal year following establishment of regional school district, effective July 1, 2015; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (d) by adding “currently” and making provisions applicable to a town formerly designated as an alliance district, effective July 1, 2015; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 amended Subsec. (b) by adding new Subdiv. (1) re town reducing budgeted appropriation for education in amount equal to aid reduction and redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as Subdivs. (2) to (5), and amended Subsec. (e) by replacing “district performance” with “accountability” and replacing reference to Sec. 10-262u with reference to Sec. 10-223e, effective July 1, 2016; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 replaced “2013” with “2015”, replaced “2014” with “2016”, replaced “2015” with “2017”, replaced “2016” with “2018” and replaced “2017” with “2019”, amended Subsec. (a) by adding new Subdiv. (1) re town reducing budgeted appropriation for education in amount equal to aid reduction, and redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as Subdivs. (2) to (5), and amended Subsec. (d) by deleting “currently” and “or formerly designated as an alliance district”, effective October 31, 2017; P.A. 18-1 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re prior to reductions made by town because of withholdings or reductions made to its equalization aid grant and making technical changes, effective April 26, 2018; P.A. 19-117 replaced “2015” with “2017”, replaced “2016” with “2018”, replaced “2017” with “2019”, replaced “2018” with “2020” and replaced “2019” with “2021”, amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by deleting former Subdivs. (2) and (3), adding new Subdiv. (2) re districts experiencing a net reduction in resident student count during period of any five prior fiscal years, redesignating existing Subdiv. (4) as new Subdiv. (3), redesignating existing Subdiv. (5) as new Subdiv. (4) and amending same to designate existing provision re increased district efficiencies as Subpara. (A) and add clauses (i) to (vii) and to designate existing provision re regional collaboration or cooperative arrangements as Subpara. (B), added Subsec. (g) re self-insured districts that experience loss as a result of catastrophic events not required to include amount in calculation of budgeted appropriation for education for subsequent fiscal year, and made technical and conforming changes throughout, effective July 1, 2019.