Nebraska Administrative Code
Topic - EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
Title 92 - NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Chapter 8 - SCHOOL FINANCE & BUDGETING/STATE FUNDING OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNITS AND LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Section 92-8-004 - State Aid

Universal Citation: 92 NE Admin Rules and Regs ch 8 ยง 004

Current through March 20, 2024

for the ensuing school fiscal year shall be calculated pursuant to sections 79-1001 to 79-1033 R.R.S. which is known and may be cited as the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act.

004.01 Application for Early Payment of Postponed State Aid

79-1016(8) R.R.S. states: "A school district whose State Aid is to be calculated [for correction of adjusted valuation due to clerical error, or for agricultural land, assessed value changes by reason of land qualified or disqualified for special use valuation pursuant to sections 77-1343 to 77-1348 R.R.S.] and whose State Aid is postponed as a result of failure to calculate State Aid in such manner, may apply to the State Board for lump sum payment of such postponed State Aid. Such application may be for any amount up to one hundred percent of the postponed state aid. The State Board may grant the entire amount applied for or any portion of such amount. The State Board shall notify the Director of Administrative Services of the amount of funds to be paid in a lump sum and the reduced amount of the monthly payments. The Director of Administrative Services shall, at the time of the next State Aid payment pursuant to section 79-1022 R.R.S., draw a warrant for the lump sum amount from appropriated funds and forward such warrant to the district."

004.02 Application for Early Payment of State Aid Due to Financial Hardship

79-1033(2)R.R.S. states, in part: "A district which receives, or has received in the most recently available complete data year or in either of the two fiscal years preceding the most recently available complete data year, federal funds in excess of twenty-five percent of its general fund budget of expenditures may apply for early payment of State Aid paid pursuant to the Act when such federal funds are not received in a timely manner. Such application may be made at any time by a district suffering such financial hardship and may be for any amount up to fifty percent of the remaining amount to which the district is entitled during the current fiscal year. The State Board may grant the entire amount applied for or any portion of such amount if the State Board finds that a financial hardship exists in the district. The State Board shall notify the Director of Administrative Services of the amount of funds to be paid in lump sum and the reduced amount of the monthly payments. The Director of Administrative Services shall, at the time of the next State Aid payment made pursuant to section 79-1022 R.R.S., draw a warrant for the lump sum amount from appropriated funds and forward such warrant to the district. Financial hardship means a situation in which income to a district is exceeded by liabilities to such a degree that if early payment is not received it will be necessary for the district to discontinue vital services or functions."

004.03 Prior Year State Aid Correction

79-1065 R.R.S. states: "The State Department of Education shall adjust payments provided under Chapter 79 to school districts which, after final determination, received funds not equal to the appropriate allocation for the previous school fiscal year such that the district will receive the funds to which it was finally determined to be entitled. If the total adjustment cannot be made from the funds to be provided in the current school fiscal year, the adjustment shall be prorated, with additional adjustments made to payments for future school fiscal years. The Department shall maintain an accurate account and a record of the reasons the adjustments were made and the amount of such adjustments." The Commissioner, or his or her designee(s), shall adjust such payments in accordance with this law.

004.04 Application for Lump-Sum Payment of Prior Year State Aid Correction

Section 79-1065.01 R.R.S. states in part: "If the adjustment under section 79-1065 results in a school district being entitled to the payment of additional funds, the district may apply to the State Department of Education for a lump-sum payment for any amount up to one hundred percent of the adjustment. The Department shall notify the Director of Administrative Services of the amount of funds to be paid in a lump-sum and the reduced amount of the monthly payments pursuant to section 79-1022. The Department shall make such payment in a lump-sum not later than the last business day of September of the year in which the final determination under this section is made, except that when a school district is to receive a monthly payment of less than one thousand dollars, such payment shall be one lump-sum payment on the last business day of December during the ensuing school fiscal year."

004.04A On or before July 15, the Commissioner, or his or her designee(s), will provide written notification to each school district with a positive prior year correction pursuant to section 79-1065 R.R.S. that they are entitled to receive a lump-sum payment for any amount up to one hundred percent of the positive prior year correction.

004.04B The lump-sum amount to be distributed to an eligible school district which is part of a local system shall be proportional based on the weighted formula students attributed to each district in the local system.

004.04C A school district with a positive prior year State Aid correction pursuant to section 79-1065 R.R.S. shall inform the Commissioner in writing of its request to receive a lump-sum payment for any amount up to one hundred percent of the positive prior year State Aid correction. Such written request must be received by the Department on or before August 15.

004.04D The Commissioner, or his or her designee(s), will review the submitted request, and provide written notification on or before September 15 to the school district of the lump-sum payment of the positive prior year State Aid correction and the reduced amount of the monthly payments pursuant to section 79-1022 R.R.S..

004.04E A school district is not eligible to receive a lump-sum payment of the positive prior year State Aid correction if a school district is to receive a monthly State Aid payment of less than one thousand dollars pursuant to section 79-1022(2) R.R.S..

004.05 Application for Adjustment to State Aid Payments for Transfers of Property Due to Annexation

79-1065.02 R.R.S. provides that whenever property within the boundaries of a Class II, III, IV, V or VI school district is transferred to another school district due to a change in the school district boundaries in response to annexation of the transferred property by a city or village, school districts from which property is being transferred may apply for an adjustment to the state aid payments for the ensuing year. This procedure is implemented as follows:

004.05A On or before August 20 preceding the first school fiscal year for which the property will not be available for taxation for the school district general fund levy, the school district from which property is being transferred shall apply to the Department, on forms prescribed by the Commissioner, for an adjustment to the state aid payments for the ensuing year. On or before August 20, copies of the application must be sent by the applicant school district to the high school district(s) of the local systems receiving valuation in the transfer. Property is deemed transferred from the school district whether the property was within the boundaries of the school district or the property was affiliated with the school district.

004.05B Upon receipt of the application, with the assistance of the Property Tax Administrator, the Commissioner or his or her designee(s), shall calculate the amount of additional state aid, if any, that the local system for the applicant school district would have received for such school fiscal year if the adjusted valuation for the transferred property had not been included in the adjusted valuation of such local system for the calculation of state aid for such school fiscal year. An amount equal to the additional state aid for the local system of an applicant school district shall be attributed to the local systems receiving valuation in such transfer based upon the ratio of the adjusted valuation received by each local system divided by the total adjusted valuation transferred from the applicant school district.

004.05C On or before September 20 of such school fiscal year, the Commissioner or his or her designee(s), shall certify to the applicant school district the amount of additional state aid, if any, the district will receive and shall certify to the high school district of the receiving local system the amount of the reduction in state aid attributed to the school district.

004.05D If the applicant school district receives a lump sum payment pursuant to section (2) of section 79-1022 R.R.S., such lump sum payment shall be increased by the amount of additional state aid, if any. If the high school district receiving valuation receives a lump sum payment pursuant to section (2) of section 79-1022 R.R.S., such lump sum payment shall be reduced by the amount of the reduction in state aid attributed to the receiving local system.

004.05E If the applicant school district does not receive a lump sum payment, state aid payments shall be increased by one-tenth of the amount of additional state aid for each of the ten state aid payments for such school fiscal year. If the high school district of a receiving local system does not receive a lump sum payment, state aid payments shall be reduced by one-tenth of the amount attributed to such receiving local system for each of the ten state aid payments for such school fiscal year.

004.05F If a portion of the total reduction in state aid for local systems receiving valuation in the transfer of property that is the subject of the application is delayed until future years, the additional state aid to be paid to the applicant school district shall be reduced by the amount of the total reduction that is delayed until future years. The amount of the reduction shall be paid as additional state aid to the applicant school district in the next school fiscal year.

004.05G If the total reduction in state aid attributed to the school district receiving valuation in the transfer of property that is the subject of the application is greater than the total state aid payments for such school fiscal year, the remainder shall be subtracted from state aid payments in future years until the total reduction has been subtracted from state aid payments.

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