First Regular Session H.B. 2139
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.B. 2139
(Reference to House engrossed bill)
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Title 15, chapter 4, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-446, to read:
15-446. School districts; unification required
Notwithstanding any other law, each school district in this state shall be a unified school district on or before July 1, 2024.
Sec. 2. Title 15, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-908.01, to read:
15-908.01. Savings from consolidation or unification; use of monies
A. Each school district governing board shall annually determine the cost savings that result from any consolidation with other school districts.
B. Each school district governing board shall annually determine the cost savings that result from any unification with other school districts.
C. The resulting cost savings determined pursuant to subsection A or B of this section shall be retained by the school district and used for classroom expenditures as determined by the school district governing board, with at least twenty‑five percent of these monies to be used for teacher salaries.
Sec. 3. Delayed repeal
Section 15-949, Arizona Revised Statutes, is repealed from and after June 30, 2027.
Sec. 4. Unification and consolidation of school districts; feasibility study
On or before September 15, 2019, each county school superintendent shall commence a feasibility study on the unification, consolidation or unification and consolidation of the school districts within that county. The county school superintendent may contract with another person or entity to conduct the feasibility study. The feasibility study shall be completed on or before September 15, 2020. On or before September 30, 2020, each county school superintendent shall provide a copy of its feasibility study to the governing board of each school district within that county. The county school superintendent is responsible for ensuring that the feasibility study includes all of the following components:
1. Relevant academic and scientific research regarding school size, school district size, fiscal implications and legal issues that may include the following:
(a) Use by any of the affected districts of section 15-910 or 15‑910.01, Arizona Revised Statutes.
(b) Application of overrides authorized under title 15, chapter 4, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes.
(c) Estimated potential savings and efficiencies to be achieved.
(d) Application of teacher experience indexes and existing salary schedules of affected districts.
(e) A proposed salary schedule for the affected districts based on the average median of existing teacher salaries.
(f) Potential impact on facilities needs.
(g) Curriculum alignment.
(h) Evaluations of materials and textbooks.
(i) Examination of special education programs.
(j) Examination of English language learner programs.
(k) Examination of school year and attendance policies.
(l) Examination of personnel compensation systems.
2. Consideration of geographic boundaries, communities of interest and travel time of pupils. The county school superintendent may recommend enlarging or diminishing the size of affected school districts if all of the following requirements are met:
(a) Any school districts that are combined must have contiguous boundaries or must be adjacent to each other, or both.
(b) A county with three members on the county board of supervisors may not have more than three school districts.
(c) A county with five members on the county board of supervisors and with a population of less than two million persons may not have more than seven school districts.
(d) A county with five members on the county board of supervisors and with a population of two million persons or more may not have more than twenty school districts.
3. The inclusion of unorganized territory where at least one percent of the population attends a public school within the boundaries of a unified school district.
4. The provision of regional or statewide services for administration, instructional and noninstructional support services to rural or isolated schools and school districts or any other school district that wishes to participate in the service plans.
5. Ensuring a smooth and efficient transition from the current number of school districts in the county to the proposed number of school districts, including an examination of the following:
(a) Mechanisms to allow the elected members of existing school district governing boards to serve out the remainder of their terms.
(b) Assimilation by the proposed unified school districts of the legal liabilities and other financial and contractual obligations of the school districts being combined into a unified school district.
6. Preserving local control while maximizing an efficient and cost‑effective delivery of educational services.
7. Specific mechanisms for paying legal liabilities, contractual obligations, capital debt and overrides previously accumulated by school districts before consolidation or unification, which remain the responsibility of the previously existing school districts. Existing employment contracts remain in effect until the expiration of those contracts.
8. Specific mechanisms for acquiring legal liabilities, contractual obligations, capital debt and overrides by school districts after consolidation or unification.
9. Identifying costs attributable to consolidation or unification.
Sec. 5. Unification and consolidation plans; deadlines
A. On or before June 30, 2022, the governing board of each school district, in cooperation with other school districts in that county, shall develop, adopt and publish a plan to unify, consolidate or unify and consolidate the school district with other school districts within that county. The plan shall be submitted to the county school superintendent and shall be based on the feasibility study prescribed in section 4 of this act. Notwithstanding title 15, chapter 4, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, any consolidation or unification plan adopted pursuant to this section shall include a process to unify or consolidate without an election if all affected governing boards approve resolutions approving the unification or consolidation and certify their approval of the unification or consolidation to the county school superintendent of the county or counties in which the individual school districts are located. A school district that is unified or consolidated without an election pursuant to this subsection may increase the revenue control limit and district support level for the first three years of operation by an amount determined as follows:
1. In the first year for which a budget is computed, seven percent of the revenue control limit.
2. In the second year for which a budget is computed, five percent of the revenue control limit.
3. In the third year for which a budget is computed, three percent of the revenue control limit.
B. Each county school superintendent shall provide assistance, resources and technical support to the school districts within that county that are developing the plan to unify, consolidate or unify and consolidate.
C. Unless the deadline is adjusted pursuant to subsection D of this section, if the governing boards of the school districts within the county do not adopt a plan on or before June 30, 2022 to unify, consolidate or unify and consolidate, the county school superintendent shall develop and publish a plan to unify, consolidate or unify and consolidate the school districts within that county. Notwithstanding title 15, chapter 4, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, any consolidation or unification plan adopted pursuant to this subsection shall be executed without an election.
D. The county school superintendent may shorten or extend the deadline prescribed in subsection C of this section for school districts to adopt a plan to unify, consolidate or unify and consolidate, except that the deadline shall not extend beyond June 30, 2023. If the governing boards of the school districts within the county do not adopt a plan by the extended deadline, the county school superintendent shall develop and publish a plan to unify, consolidate or unify and consolidate the school districts within that county. Notwithstanding title 15, chapter 4, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, any consolidation or unification plan adopted pursuant to this subsection shall be executed without an election.
E. The proposed plans adopted by school districts or the county school superintendent shall include the components identified in section 4 of this act.
Sec. 6. Union high school districts; extension; retention of governing board members
A. Notwithstanding any other law, unless an extension is granted pursuant to section 5 of this act, the authority to form and operate union high school districts in this state ends on June 30, 2024.
B. If an extension is granted pursuant to section 5 of this act, the authority for the union high school district to operate ends on June 30, 2025.
C. All persons serving as members of a governing board of a union high school district may continue to serve on the governing board of the resulting common school district or common school districts, unified school district or high school district until expiration of their normal terms.
Sec. 7. Small school districts; budget revisions for fiscal years 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027
The budget revisions that are allowed pursuant to section 15-949, Arizona Revised Statutes, shall be reduced by the following amounts in each of the following fiscal years:
1. In fiscal year 2024-2025, the amount calculated by a school district pursuant to section 15-949, Arizona Revised Statutes, shall be reduced by twenty-five percent.
2. In fiscal year 2025-2026, the amount calculated by a school district pursuant to section 15-949, Arizona Revised Statutes, shall be reduced by fifty percent.
3. In fiscal year 2026-2027, the amount calculated by a school district pursuant to section 15-949, Arizona Revised Statutes, shall be reduced by seventy-five percent.
Sec. 8. Unification of existing school districts; transition plan
The governing board of each school district that is not a unified school district on the effective date of this act shall develop a transition plan within ninety days after the effective date of this act to comply with the requirements of this act on or before July 1, 2024.
Sec. 9. Appropriations; counties; school district unification and consolidation costs
A. The sum of $250,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2019-2020 to each board of supervisors of a county with a population of five hundred thousand persons or less for costs associated with implementing this act, including feasibility studies.
B. The sum of $750,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2019-2020 to each board of supervisors of a county with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons for costs associated with implementing this act, including feasibility studies.
Sec. 10. Conforming legislation
The legislative council staff shall prepare proposed legislation conforming the Arizona Revised Statutes to the provisions of this act for consideration in the fifty‑fourth legislature, second regular session."
Amend title to conform