SCS/HS/HB 373 - This act revises the school building revolving fund and the use of riverboat gaming proceeds.

USE OF RIVERBOAT GAMING PROCEEDS - Excess riverboat receipts beyond those needed to fund the net increase in the current fiscal year appropriation for the State School Moneys Fund to fund formula entitlements shall be transferred to the School Building Revolving Fund. Similar provisions are contained in SS#3/SB 360.

SCHOOL BUILDING REVOLVING FUND - The School Building Revolving Fund is revised. The Fund shall be used to provide funding for lease purchases for school districts. If the fund balance in insufficient to fund all projects, projects will be ranked in the following three classes and each class will be funded as fully as possible on a first-come, first-served basis. Rankings shall be based on: 1) uninsured costs due to fire or natural disaster, 2) districts with growth in enrollment of more than 12% for the fifth through the third preceding years and with below average per pupil wealth and bonded debt of at least 9% of district assessed valuation and 3) districts with below average wealth and bonded debt of at least 9% of district assessed valuation. Lease purchase repayment terms, including inerest and penalties are included. Similar provisions are contained in SS#3/SB 360.

STATE AID AND PROTESTED TAXES - The act provides that districts shall not receive a state aid deduction for current year taxes which are protested and held in escrow (and not received by the district). Protested taxes from previous years (but not prior to 1997) shall be deducted in the year received at ninety percent. This language is contained in SS#3/SB 360 and SS/HB 641 (TAT).

STATE AID AND LOSS OF ASSESSED VALUE - The act allows a district to use the current year's estimated assessed valuation for determining state aid, if the current year's estimated assessed valuation is more than ten percent less than the average assessed valuation for the preceding year. This language is contained in SS#3/SB 360 and SS/HB 641 (TAT).

TRANSFER OF OPERATING FUNDS FOR CAPITAL PURPOSES - The act allows certain districts, such as Pleasant Hill, to set new levy in the operating funds, while making the full 24 cents of transfers for capital projects, beginning next year, rather than based upon the phase in from SB 795 of 1996 under which full phase in occurs for 1999-2000 for all affected districts.

The act also allows such districts to transfer the local revenue raised the last three years from a full Prop C waiver or tax rate increase. The transfer to the capital projects fund shall be made no later than June 30, 1997 and shall not decrease the incidental fund balance below twelve percent. Such transfers shall not be considered as an operating expenditure for the purposes of determining compliance with requirements for expenditure on salaries for certificated staff. A district making this transfer shall comply with teacher's salary provisions of 165.016, RSMo, for the next three years without option for a waiver or base year adjustment.

This language is contained in SS#3/SB 360.

PROP C ROLLBACK AND THE MINIMUM LEVY - The act removes the existing requirement that Prop C rollback be interrupted at the $2.75 minimum levy. Districts will be required to roll back as required under Prop C and may then, by board action, raise the levy back up to the lesser of $2.75 or the district's tax rate ceiling. This language is contained in SS#3/SB 360.

LEASE PURCHASES OF SCHOOL BUSES - Current law provides that lease purchases for which transfers may be made from operating funds to the capital projects fund pursuant to section 165.011, RSMo, must be incurred prior to January 1, 1997. The act excludes lease purchases of school buses from this Jan. 1, 1997 moratorium. Thus, new lease purchases after that date may be entered into for school buses and lawful transfers may be made from operating funds to pay such obligations, within the overall limits of section 165.011, RSMo. This language is contained in SS#3/SB 360 and SS/HB 641 (TAT).
OTTO FAJEN