BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
John Vasconcellos, Chair
2003-2004 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 442
AUTHOR: Richman
AMENDED: March 30, 2004
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 9, 2004
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:James Wilson
SUBJECT : School District Budget Summary
SUMMARY
This bill requires a school district with enrollment
exceeding 250,000 to prepare a summary of the district's
budgets for the 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 fiscal years
and make those summaries available to the public at public
hearings.
BACKGROUND
Current law requires the governing board of each school
district to hold a public hearing on the district's
proposed budget and requires the budget to show a complete
plan and itemized statement of all proposed expenditures.
Current law also requires school districts to annually
issue a school accountability report card for each school,
reporting estimated per pupil expenditures among other
things.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires the governing board of a school district with
enrollment exceeding 250,000 to create a summary in
the district budget, to include the following
information:
a) Actual expenditures for prior and current
fiscal years, and proposed budget year
expenditures for salaries, benefits, incentive
bonuses, or other forms of remuneration and
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further separately identifying expenditures for
certificated staff, segregated by type of
credential, and classified staff.
b) The number and percentage of classroom
teachers who are fully credentialed and employed
by the district for the prior and the current
fiscal years.
c) The number and percentage of classroom
teachers employed by the district for the prior
and current fiscal years who are serving
without full credentials, including holders of
emergency credentials, university interns,
district interns, and preinterns.
d) Total expenditures for facility maintenance,
new construction, and modernization for the prior
and current fiscal years.
e) Average class size by grade levels.
f) Actual expenditures for the prior and
current fiscal years and the proposed budget year
expenditures for operating expenses, separately
identifying contract services, debt service, and
capital expenditures. Contract services are
required to be further separately reported for
legal services, engineering services, real estate
services, and financial services.
g) Average operating expenses per pupil for the
prior and current fiscal years, and the proposed
budget year, separately identifying the costs of
textbooks, other instructional materials, and
instructional supplies.
h) Revenues by source, including state,
federal, and local sources, separately
identifying tax revenues from other revenues and
separately identifying funds derived from the
sale of bonds, revenue anticipation notes,
certificates of participation, and other debt
instruments.
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2) Requires that the district make the budget summary
available to the public and distribute it at public
hearings.
3) Provides that the requirements of this bill commence
with the budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year and become
inoperative July 1, 2008.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Applies to Los Angeles Unified. The Los Angeles
Unified School District is the only school district in
the state with enrollment exceeding 250,000.
2) State mandated costs . The Legislative Counsel notes
that this bill would mandate costs on school districts
that may already be collecting this information, but
will be able to collect reimbursement from the state
once they are told that they shall collect the
information.
SUPPORT
California Federation of Teachers
United Teachers of Los Angeles
OPPOSITION
Los Angeles Unified School District