Synopsis: Allocation of school resources. Allows school corporations
to undertake certain actions to save money in nonacademic areas and
reallocate the saved money to student instruction and learning.
Requires the department of education and the state board of education
to develop a plan to upgrade the financial management, analysis, and
reporting system for school corporations and schools.
Effective: July 1, 2006.
January 12, 2006, read first time and referred to Committee on Education.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
education.
means to increase the allocation of resources to student
instruction and learning.
(5) To recognize school corporations that achieve effective
allocation of resources to student instruction and learning.
Sec. 2. The definitions in IC 20 apply to this article.
Chapter 2. Authority to Allocate Expenditures to Student
Instruction and Learning
Sec. 1. A school corporation individually, in collaboration with
other school corporations, and through the educational services
centers may undertake action to reduce noninstructional
expenditures and allocate the resulting savings to student
instruction and learning. Actions taken under this section include
the following:
(1) Pooling of resources with other school corporations or
units of government for liability insurance, property and
casualty insurance, worker's compensation insurance,
employee health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance,
or other insurance, whether by pooling assets for coverage or
for the purchase of coverage, or by the creation of or
participation in insurance trusts.
(2) Consolidating purchases with other school corporations or
units of government of the following:
(A) School buses and other vehicles and vehicle fleets.
(B) Fuel, maintenance, or other services for vehicles or
vehicle fleets.
(C)
Energy needs. Each school corporation shall, and more
than one (1) school corporation acting jointly may, be
considered a single purchaser of energy.
(D) Food services.
(E) Facilities maintenance services.
(F) Transportation management services.
(G)
Textbooks, technology, and other school materials and
supplies.
(H)
Any other purchases a school corporation may require.
Purchases may be made by contiguous school corporations, as
part of regional consolidated purchasing arrangements, or
from consolidated sources under multistate cooperative
bidding arrangements.
Sec. 2. A school corporation may use shared services
arrangements with other school corporations and units of
government, including:
(1) the use of shared administrative services overseeing
transportation, food service, facilities maintenance, or other
operations;
(2) the use of shared administrative services to manage
finance, payroll, human resources, information technology,
purchasing, or other administrative services; and
(3) the use of shared resources to provide instruction,
supplemental services, extracurricular activities, or other
student services.
School corporations are not required to merge schools, consolidate,
or otherwise relinquish control of curriculum, instruction, or
student activities to use shared services arrangements.
Sec. 3. A school corporation may collaborate with contiguous
school corporations to explore the use of cooperatives among
school corporations, clusters of commonly managed school
corporations, or the consolidation of school corporations to provide
effective and efficient management of the school corporations or
functions of the school corporations.
Sec. 4. (a) Educational service centers established under
IC 20-20-1 shall support and facilitate actions by school
corporations under this article, including by the use of an
educational service center's existing cooperative agreements.
(b) An educational service center may use the division of finance
of the department and the office of management and budget to
provide technical assistance for school corporation actions under
this article.
(c) Not later than August 31 of each year, the educational
service centers shall report to the state board the results of the
efforts of the educational service centers under this article during
the preceding school year.
Chapter 3. State Board Action
Sec. 1. The state board shall explore methods, including
statewide purchases, to reduce the expense to school corporations
for the purchase of the following:
(1) Textbooks.
(2) Technology.
(3) School buses and other vehicles.
(4) Other areas of expenses as determined by the state board.
Sec. 2. The state board, assisted by the educational service
centers, the division of finance of the department, and the office of
management and budget, shall survey periodically the school
corporations to determine actions taken by the school corporations
to allocate resources to student instruction and learning. The state
board shall issue an annual report of actions taken to:
(1) each school corporation;
(2) the public; and
(3) the general assembly.
The report to the general assembly must be submitted to the
executive director of the legislative services agency in an electronic
format under IC 5-14-6.
Sec. 3. Not later than November 1 of each year, the state board,
assisted by the office of management and budget, shall submit a
report to the state superintendent, the governor, and the general
assembly concerning the following:
(1) Consolidated purchasing arrangements used by multiple
school corporations, through educational services, and in the
state as a whole.
(2) Shared services arrangements used by multiple school
corporations, through educational service centers, and in the
state as a whole.
(3) The efforts of school corporations to explore cooperatives,
clusters, or consolidations.
The report to the general assembly must be submitted to the
executive director of the legislative services agency in an electronic
format under IC 5-14-6.
Sec. 4. (a) The state board, assisted by the office of management
and budget and the division of finance of the department, shall
analyze each school corporation's expenses for the 2004-2005 and
2005-2006 school years to determine how much each school
corporation spent, from whatever source, directly or indirectly, on
the following categories of expenditures:
(1) Student instructional activities expenditures, specifying all
sums spent directly on students for:
(A) academic achievement by the students; and
(B) extracurricular experiences by the students.
(2) Student instructional support expenditures, including all
sums spent away from the students but directly in support of
academic achievement by students.
(3) Operational expenditures, including all sums spent on or
away from the students for school or district operations.
(4) Nonoperational expenditures, including all sums spent on
capital, debt service, retirement or severance payments, or
other noninstructional and nonoperational purposes.
The state board shall determine the types of expenses that are
included in each category set forth in subdivisions (1) through (4).
The sum of all expenditures under subdivisions (1) through (4) by
a school corporation must equal the total amount of expenditures
by the school corporation for the year being analyzed.
(b) The state board's analysis under subsection (a) may include
relevant trend line data for school years before the 2004-2005
school year.
(c) Not later than November 1, 2006, the state board shall report
the results of the analysis under subsection (a) to the state
superintendent, the governor, and the general assembly. The
report to the general assembly must be submitted to the executive
director of the legislative services agency in an electronic format
under IC 5-14-6.
Sec. 5. (a) Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, and using
the 2005-2006 school year as a baseline:
(1) the office of management and budget shall analyze and
report to the state board, the governor, and the general
assembly concerning the progress or lack of progress of each
school corporation, all school corporations in each
educational service center's area, and in the state as a whole
in improving the ratio of student instructional expenditure to
all other expenditures for the previous school year;
(2) the state board shall recognize each school corporation
and educational service center that has an improved ratio of
student instructional expenditures to all other expenditures
during the previous school year;
(3) the office of management and budget shall consult with
and provide technical assistance to each school corporation
that did not have an improved ratio of student instructional
expenditures to all other expenditures during the previous
school year; and
(4) each school corporation shall report to the public and to
the members of the general assembly whose districts include
the school corporation:
(A) the percentage of resources spent by the school
corporation during the previous school year on each
category of expenditures set forth in section 4 of this
chapter;
(B) the trend line for each category of expenditures set
forth in section 4 of this chapter for the school corporation
during the previous school year; and
(C) whether the school corporation did or did not make
progress in improving the ratio of student instructional
expenditures to all other expenditures during the previous
school year.
(b) The reports to the general assembly under subdivision (a)(1)
and to individual members of the general assembly under
subdivision (a)(4) must be submitted to the executive director of
the legislative services agency in an electronic format under
IC 5-14-6.
Sec. 6. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, the state
board shall:
(1) establish goals for each category of expenditures set forth
in section 4 of this chapter that will place:
(A) the school corporations in Indiana; and
(B) Indiana;
among the school corporations and states that are most
effective at the allocation of taxpayer resources directly to
student instruction and learning; and
(2) recognize and reward the school corporations that achieve
the goals described in subdivision (1).
shall:
(1) use the assistance of the state board of accounts, the
division of finance of the department, the division of
technology of the department, the office of management and
budget, and external consultants and advisers the state board
determines are necessary;
(2) provide the opportunity for input from governing bodies,
superintendents, and other interested parties;
(3) consider existing financial management, analysis, and
reporting systems and technology in use in school
corporations and in other states;
(4) take into account the need for training personnel in school
corporations in the use of the system; and
(5) identify any amendments to the Indiana Code that are
necessary to implement specific provisions of the plan.
(e) Not later than October 1, 2006, the department and the state
board shall submit the plan developed under subsection (b) to the
governor and the general assembly. The report to the general
assembly must be submitted to the executive director of the
legislative services agency in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
(f) If directed to do so by a member of the general assembly, the
legislative services agency shall prepare a bill to amend the Indiana
Code as necessary to implement specific provisions of the plan
developed under subsection (b) for introduction in the 2007
legislative session.
(g) This SECTION expires December 31, 2008.