Page 7 - MDLC_Legislative Action2015_F

2015 Miami-Dade County Public School State Legislative Priority Positions GOAL STATEMENT The Florida Legislature should establish a fve-year strategic plan to restore, stabilize, and increase funding through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) to achieve at least the national average in per pupil expenditures to provide the highest quality education and to enable all of our students to be empowered to lead productive and fulflling lives as lifelong learners and responsible citizens. 2015 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY POSITIONS FUNDING: Restore the state’s investment in K-12 education by increasing the Base Student Allocation (BSA) to at least pre-recession levels of $4,163.47 and the total per student funding of $7,307.90. Revise the Value Adjustment Board proceedings to include: • Proof of the property owner consent/knowledge of an appeal; • Limit appeal rescheduling to only one for good cause; • Payment of interest at the market rate; and • Require the property appraiser to fnish all appeals by June 30th of each year. Amend state statutes to allow school districts to levy the Prior Period Funding Adjustment Millage based on the property appraiser’s estimate of the prior year gross taxable value. Modify the penalty for non-compliance with the constitutional class size requirement to be based on the school-wide average for all public schools. Conduct an impartial third-party study to develop a cost of education Index which focuses on cost differences integral to K-12 public school district operations refecting such costs as average teacher salaries, health insurance for employees, property insurance per FTE, and transportation costs per FTE. Increase funding for Safe Schools and revise allocation formula so that each district’s allocation is equal to ffty percent of prior year eligible district expenditures. Fully fund the infrastructure cost and the acquisition of computers for the mandated expansion of computer-based administration of statewide testing, and the digital content conversion required by 2015-2016. Provide school districts funding to cover the full cost of offering dual enrollment courses through incentive funding to school districts/schools that offer such programs and have successful completion of dual enrollment courses by students. Fully fund and allow school districts to determine locally how to ensure the lowest performing schools/ students receive additional instructional time by either extending the school day or extending the school year. Amend F.S. 1011.61 to fully fund programs taken by students beyond the 1.0 FTE cap or 25 hours a week such as virtual classes outside the traditional school day and year. Eliminate the statutory provision requiring the passage of end-of-course assessment for funding purposes. 7