79-1007.15. Elementary site allowance; calculation.
(1) For school fiscal year 2008-09, the department shall calculate an elementary site allowance for any district in which (a) the district has more than one elementary attendance site, (b) at least one of the elementary attendance sites does not offer any other grades, (c) the square miles in the district divided by the number of elementary attendance sites in the district equals one hundred square miles or more per elementary attendance site, and (d) the fall membership in elementary site grades in the district divided by the number of elementary site grades then divided again by the number of elementary attendance sites equals fifteen or fewer students per grade per elementary attendance site. Qualifying elementary attendance sites for such districts shall only offer elementary site grades and shall have an average of fifteen or fewer students per grade in the fall membership.
(2) For school fiscal year 2009-10 and each school fiscal year thereafter, the department shall calculate an elementary site allowance for any district which has at least one qualifying elementary attendance site and which submits the information required for the calculation on a form prescribed by the department on or before October 15 of the school fiscal year preceding the school fiscal year for which aid is being calculated. A qualifying elementary attendance site shall be an elementary attendance site, in a district with multiple elementary attendance sites, which does not have another elementary attendance site within seven miles in the same school district or which is the only public elementary attendance site located in an incorporated city or village.
(3) The elementary site allowance for each qualifying district shall equal the sum of the elementary site allowances for each qualifying elementary attendance site in the district. The elementary site allowance for each qualifying elementary attendance site shall equal five hundred percent of the statewide average general fund operating expenditures per formula student multiplied by the result of rounding the ratio of the fall membership attributed to the elementary attendance site divided by eight up to the next whole number if the result was not a whole number, except that if the resulting whole number is greater than the number of elementary site grades, the whole number shall be reduced to equal the number of elementary site grades.
(4) For purposes of this section:
(a) Each district shall determine which grades are considered elementary site grades, except that (i) all grades designated as elementary site grades shall be offered in each elementary attendance site in the district, without any preference indicated by the school board or any school district administrator for students to attend different elementary attendance sites depending on their elementary site grade level, for the school fiscal year for which aid is being calculated and for each of the five school fiscal years preceding the school fiscal year for which aid is being calculated and (ii) elementary site grades shall not include grades nine, ten, eleven, or twelve;
(b) An elementary attendance site is an attendance site in which elementary site grades are offered;
(c) The primary elementary site shall be the elementary attendance site to which the most formula students are attributed in the district and shall not be a qualifying elementary attendance site; and
(d) Fall membership means the fall membership for the school fiscal year immediately preceding the school fiscal year for which aid is being calculated.
(5) If the elementary attendance site is new or is being reopened after being closed for at least one school year, the requirements of subdivision (4)(a)(i) of this section with respect to preceding school fiscal years shall not apply to school fiscal years in which the elementary attendance site was not in operation.
(6) The department shall determine if the qualifications for the elementary site allowance have been met for each elementary attendance site for which information has been submitted. The department may rely on the information submitted and any other information available to the department, including, but not limited to, past attendance patterns. The state board shall establish a procedure for appeal of decisions of the department to the state board for a final determination.
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