HB1936 Summary

• Changes the academic facilities wealth index calculation method from a percentage to a sum of weighted components divided by seven: four times the mill per student index, two times the net legal balance per student index, and the building fund balance per student index.

• Adds a new statutory definition of "net legal balance" as a public school district's combined balance in teacher's salary, operating, and debt services funds, minus categorical funding balances and escrow balances for federal bond retirements.

• Restructures the computational methodology for all three index components (mill value, net legal balance, and building fund balance) by establishing rankings, percentile allocations, and division by the ninety-fifth percentile value.

• Establishes a floor of .995 (nine hundred ninety-five thousandths) for school district indices and caps funding for districts with indices of 1.00 or greater at the level provided for a .995 index.

• Makes Section 1 effective beginning with the 2019-2021 project funding cycle for state financial participation under the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Funding Act.