Section 22.1-98.2 - Certain agreements; adjustment of state share for basic aidA. Any school board of a school division in which fewer than 1,100 students were included in average daily membership for the preceding school year, in a locality that has a local composite index of .6000 or greater, and has 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes, as calculated by the Auditor of Public Accounts and reported annually to the Department, upon entering into certain cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support services, shall receive the state share for basic aid computed on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay of the contiguous school division, calculated annually. The Board shall develop eligibility criteria for such cost-savings and service-sharing agreements and for the adjustment of the state share for basic aid, consistent with the appropriation act.
The Governor shall approve the adjustment to the state share prior to the disbursement of funds. The Department shall annually report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations the cost-savings agreements made and the adjusted state shares so approved.
B. The local school board receiving the adjusted state share shall not use the additional funds received to supplant local funds appropriated for education. The adjusted state share shall be used solely for educational purposes and shall not be used to reduce local operating expenditures for public education from the prior fiscal year. However, no school division shall be required to maintain a per pupil expenditure for operations that exceeds the per pupil expenditure in the prior fiscal year. The superintendent of the school division shall inform the Superintendent of the public education purpose for which these local funds shall be used.C. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Commonwealth from terminating or modifying any program or function under which distribution to a local school board has been made, and if so terminated or modified all obligations hereunder shall cease or be reduced in proportion with such modifications, as the case may be.D. Except as provided in subsection C, such contractual agreements shall remain in effect until terminated by the relevant school divisions. If any such contractual agreements between the relevant school divisions terminate, the Commonwealth's obligation under this section shall cease.E. This agreement and adjusted state payment shall be in lieu of any existing funds a locality receives from a Small School Division Assistance grant.2004, c. 820; 2008, cc. 589, 705; 2019, cc. 405, 406; 2022, c. 355.Amended by Acts 2022 c. 355,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by Acts 2019 c. 406, § 1, eff. 7/1/2019.Amended by Acts 2019 c. 405, § 1, eff. 7/1/2019.