SB229: The Redbud School Funding Act

By Dr. Pam Deering, CCOSA/OASA Executive Director and Derald Glover, OASA Assistant Executive Director

Oklahoma has always had one of the most equitable state funding formulas for schools’ general funds. However, building funds have not enjoyed the same equity. The state has had a “State Public Common School Building Equalization Fund” for many years but it was never funded. In the 2021 state legislative session, the Redbud School Funding Act, which provides funding for the Common School Building Equalization Fund, was passed. Below are some key components of this new law:

■ The money for the fund will come from medical marijuana retail sales.

■ For FY2022, the first $65 million collected will apportion 59.23% to the Building Equalization Fund.

■ For FY2023 and beyond, apportionments will be based upon prior year tax collections of medical marijuana retail sales, not to exceed three-fourths of the tax collected. If this amount is insufficient an additional amount will be apportioned from sales tax collections.

■ All brick-and-mortar public schools may participate in the fund including those who utilize “blended instruction” opportunities. “Blended Instruction” is defined as a combination of brick-and-mortar learning and virtual learning that includes elements of a student’s control over place, pace, and path of learning. A blended student must participate in at least one unit or set of competencies at a physical school building in a traditional classroom setting. An eligible charter school must provide traditional or blended instruction to at least two-thirds of its students. Schools sponsored by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board are not eligible.

■ The State Department of Education (SDE) shall disburse redbud school grants annually from the State Public Common School Building Fund to public schools and eligible charter schools.

Redbud School Grants shall be determined as follows:

■ For each district, the SDE will add one-fourth of a district’s county fourmill levy to the new revenue generated by the five-mill building levy to determine the nonchargeable millage.

■ SDE will total all of the nonchargeable millage and divide that total by the average daily membership (ADM) of the preceding school year to obtain the statewide nonchargeable millage per student (known as the baseline local funding per student).

■ All eligible charter schools will be included in the above calculations as unique school districts.

■ For each school district below the baseline local funding per student, SDE will shall subtract the baseline from the average nonchargeable millage per student for each district to determine the shortfall for each district.

■ The shortfall will then be multiplied by the ADM of the preceding school year of the eligible district. The resulting amount will be the Redbud school funding amount for that district.

Except as authorized by state law, a charter school shall not be eligible to receive state-dedicated, local, or county revenue. A charter school shall be considered a local education agency for purposes of funding. The legal average daily attendance (ADA) for purposes of distributions contained in state law shall not include the ADA for students enrolled in a charter school.

In conclusion...

The Redbud School Funding Act is one of the bright spots of the past legislative session for Oklahoma’s public schools. Once the state gathers the data and establishes the rules for distribution, eligible schools will start receiving the funds. This should occur after the fall of each school year. ■