HB2326 - 532R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Supplemental appropriation; fiscal year 2017-2018; superintendent of public instruction; salary increases; guidance counselors; teacher aides; definitions

A. In addition to the appropriation made by Laws 2017, chapter 305, section 33, the sum of $1,700,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2018-2019 to the superintendent of public instruction for salary increases for guidance counselors and teacher aides.

B. Each school district and charter school shall use its allocation from this appropriation only to increase by 1.06 percent in fiscal year 2017-2018 the salary of each guidance counselor and teacher aide who taught at an Arizona school district or charter school during the 2016‑2017 school year and who teaches at the school district or charter school during the 2017-2018 school year. The 1.06 percent salary increase that a school district or charter school provides to each eligible guidance counselor and teacher aide:

1. Is in addition to any other salary increase that the school district or charter school would have provided to the guidance counselor or teacher aide for the 2017-2018 school year apart from this section.

2. Shall supplement and not supplant any salary increase that the school district or charter school would have provided to the guidance counselor or teacher aide for the 2017-2018 school year apart from this section.

C. The department of education shall use the appropriated amount to provide school districts and charter schools with funding for additional guidance counselor and teacher aide salary increases for fiscal year 2017‑2018. For a charter school, the amount provided for pay raises for its guidance counselors and teacher aides shall be five percent of the amount provided for its teachers by Laws 2017, chapter 305, section 33.

D. On or before May 1, 2018, the department of education shall allocate to each school district and charter school in this state the amount of funding needed to increase by 1.06 percent the salary of each guidance counselor and teacher aide who works at the school district or charter school during the 2017-2018 school year and who worked at an Arizona school district or charter school during the 2016‑2017 school year, including the amount of funding needed to pay the employer share of related increases in employee-related expenses for the Arizona state retirement system or other employee retirement system and the federal insurance contributions act. The employer share of employee‑related retirement system expenses for a guidance counselor or teacher aide not participating in the Arizona state retirement system may not exceed expenses for a guidance counselor or teacher aide participating in the Arizona state retirement system. The 1.06 percent salary increase for each eligible guidance counselor and teacher aide shall be computed by the school district or charter school based on the guidance counselor's or teacher aide's salary for the 2016-2017 school year. The department shall add the amount computed for each school district and charter school pursuant to this subsection to the base support level that otherwise would be computed for the school district or charter school for fiscal year 2017-2018 pursuant to section 15-943 or 15-943.02, Arizona Revised Statutes.

E. The members of a school district governing board or a charter school governing body shall conduct a separate vote regarding the allocation of monies that the governing board or body receives pursuant to this section. It also shall notify guidance counselors and teacher aides of the scheduled date and time of action of the governing board or body for this issue and shall transmit a notice of public hearing to the department of education for posting on the department's website at least ten days before the hearing. If the school district or charter school maintains a website, the school district or charter school shall post on its website the notice of the public hearing.

F. The members of a school district governing board or a charter school governing body shall attest on the page of the school district's or charter school's fiscal year 2017-2018 budget that the members sign that the budget adopted by the school district or charter school for fiscal year 2017-2018 meets the requirements of this section. This attestation shall also pertain to the following information provided by the school district or charter school regarding guidance counselors and teacher aides who worked at an Arizona school district or charter school during the 2016-2017 school year and who work at the school district or charter school during the 2017-2018 school year:

1. The number of guidance counselors and teacher aides at the school district or charter school.

2. The total amount of guidance counselor and teacher aide salaries for the 2016-2017 school year.

3. The total amount of guidance counselor and teacher aide salaries for the 2017-2018 school year apart from this section.

4. The total of the employer share of related increases in employee‑related expenses for required contributions to employee retirement systems and the federal insurance contributions act.

5. The total amount of funding needed to increase by 1.06 percent the salary of each guidance counselor and teacher aide who works at the school district or charter school during the 2017‑2018 school year and who worked at an Arizona school district or charter school during the 2016‑2017 school year.

G. A school district or charter school shall submit its adopted budget to the department of education, which shall distribute funding for additional guidance counselor and teacher aide salary increases for fiscal year 2017-2018 based on the adopted budget. This calculation is subject to the independent annual audit of the school district or charter school pursuant to section 15-914, Arizona Revised Statutes. Any audit finding regarding the miscalculation of this line item shall be reported to the department of education and is subject to a budget correction pursuant to section 15‑915, Arizona Revised Statutes.

H. Monies that a school district receives pursuant to this section shall be included in the school district's general budget limit for the maintenance and operation fund for fiscal year 2017-2018 pursuant to section 15-947, Arizona Revised Statutes. Monies that a joint technical education district receives from this line item shall be included in the joint technical education district's general budget limit for the maintenance and operation fund for fiscal year 2017-2018 pursuant to section 15‑947.01, Arizona Revised Statutes.

I. The legislature and governor intend for this supplemental appropriation to result in an increase in the compensation of guidance counselors and teacher aides in Arizona school districts and charter schools for fiscal year 2017-2018 and intend to include funding for an additional 1.06 percent salary increase in fiscal year 2018-2019.

J. For the purposes of this section, "guidance counselor" and "teacher aide" mean a person who was coded separately from certified teachers in the uniform system of financial records as being a guidance counselor, elementary teacher aide, secondary teacher aide or special education teacher aide in the school district employee report for the school district for the prior year pursuant to section 15-941, subsection B, Arizona Revised Statutes.