Opinion ID: 1688462
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: equalization under the bep

Text: Equalization under the BEP will be completed according to the five-year funding plan adopted in 1992. It utilizes as a base the amount of funds distributed by the State to each local system in fiscal year 1990-91. The TFP funding scheme is used for no purpose other than identifying the base amount. No school system will receive annually an amount less than its base amount. The difference between the base amount and the total cost of the BEP fully funded is the determinative factor in the equalization formula. Annual funding in excess of the base amount is distributed among the local systems on a pro rata basis according to the difference between each local system's base amount and the amount that local system would receive if the BEP were fully funded. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-3-354(e). During the transition period, the local system that has the greatest difference between its base and its entitlement under the BEP fully funded, will receive the greatest percentage increase in funding. Conversely, the system that has the least difference between its base and its entitlement will receive the least percentage increase in funding. In addition to the funding for the 42 components of the BEP provided by the State and by local systems, the State provides a growth fund to systems experiencing growth in enrollment of two percent or more during a school year, funding for an information management computer system connecting all schools in a local system to the central office and all central offices to the office of the State Department of Education in Nashville, and additional funding for the technology component. Although these three items are outside of the basic plan of 42 components, the funding is allocated according to the BEP incremental equalizing formula.