21-13-313. Distribution of funds from foundation account; property tax and cash reserve adjustment; regulations.
(a) For each school year the state auditor, on the certification of the state superintendent, shall draw warrants on the state treasurer for the amount of money which shall be distributed to each district from the foundation account as computed under W.S. 21-13-311. The warrants, payable to the treasurer of the district concerned, shall be delivered to the state superintendent for distribution to the several school districts.
(b) The state superintendent shall determine on or before August 15 of each year the tentative allotment of foundation funds to which each district is entitled under this article. In making this determination, the state superintendent may, if current fiscal information required by law to compute the tentative allotment is not available for any district by August 1 of that year, use fiscal information available to the state superintendent from the foundation program computations of the previous school year for that district. The previous year's fiscal information shall be adjusted to reflect current fiscal changes and other information known by or available to the state superintendent. Upon receiving actual fiscal information from a district, the state superintendent shall accordingly adjust future foundation program determinations for that district such that foundation program payments appropriately reflect current fiscal information for the applicable school year.
(c) Fifteen percent (15%) of each district's entitlement shall be paid to the district on or before August 15 of each year and subject to any adjustment under subsections (d) and (e) of this section, ten percent (10%) of each district's entitlement shall be paid on or about the fifteenth day of each month through April of each year. The final payment for the balance of each district's entitlement shall be distributed on or before May 15 of each year. If, after March 1 and before April 1, the state superintendent determines that the entitlement to be paid to a district for that school year is not accurate, the state superintendent shall adjust payments to or payments from that district as necessary to correct the inaccuracy as soon as practicable. Except as provided under W.S. 21-2-202(e), after March 31 of any school year, the state superintendent shall not adjust any district's entitlement or fiscal information used to compute a district's entitlement for that school year, and the entitlement or fiscal information shall only be adjusted thereafter in accordance with audit review pursuant to W.S. 9-1-513.
(d) On or before August 15 of the succeeding fiscal year, each school district shall report the amount of revenue it received during the preceding fiscal year attributable to levies provided by W.S. 21-13-102(a)(i)(A) and (ii)(A) and 21-13-201 regardless of the assessment year, but not to include assessments from years prior to July 1, 1991. If those revenues reported are less than the revenues estimated under W.S. 21-13-310(a)(i) and (ii) for that fiscal year, as applicable, and if the district's total revenues computed under W.S. 21-13-310 for that fiscal year continue to be less than the total foundation program amount computed under W.S. 21-13-309, the school district shall be paid the difference by October 15 from the foundation program account. No amount in excess of the total foundation program amount computed for any district for that fiscal year shall be paid from the foundation program account for purposes of this subsection. Any amount paid under this subsection shall not thereafter be relevant to or used for future foundation program calculations. If those revenues reported are greater than the revenues estimated under W.S. 21-13-310(a)(i) and (ii) for that fiscal year, as applicable, the excess shall be included as revenues of the district under W.S. 21-13-310 in computing the foundation entitlement for the succeeding fiscal year.
(e) Not later than January 31 of each fiscal year, the department shall compute the amount by which each district's operating balance and cash reserves at the end of the preceding fiscal year exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the total foundation program amount computed under W.S. 21-13-309 for the preceding fiscal year. In making this calculation, the entire operating balance and cash reserves for each district for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, as computed by the department, shall be separately accounted for and excluded, until it has been completely expended by the district. Revenues from settlements of protested amounts attributable to levies assessed under W.S. 21-13-102(a)(i)(A) and (ii)(A) and 21-13-201, regardless of the assessment year, shall be accounted for and excluded from the calculation under this subsection for a period of not more than one (1) year following that fiscal year in which the revenue was received by a district, as verified in writing by the district and certified by the county treasurer. Except as otherwise provided in 1997 Special Session Laws, chapter 3, section 306(e), as amended, and except as excluded under this subsection, that excess shall be deemed to be a state revenue under W.S. 21-13-310(a) for the purpose of determining distributions under W.S. 21-13-311 and amounts to be rebated under W.S. 21-13-102. The department shall promulgate rules, including reporting requirements and procedures for districts, to implement this subsection. As used in this section, "operating balance and cash reserves" means those financial resources of the district which are not encumbered by the district board of trustees for expenditure to meet an existing legal obligation or otherwise restricted by law or regulation for expenditure on specific educational programs. For purposes of this subsection, any balance within a district's separate account established under W.S. 21-15-109(e) for major building and facility repair and replacement shall be deemed restricted by law for expenditure as provided by W.S. 21-15-109(e) and shall not be considered an operating balance and cash reserve under this section.
(f) Repealed By Laws 1998, ch. 2, § 803.
(g) In addition to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the state superintendent shall, for any district subject to W.S. 21-13-102(b) as determined by the department for any school year, or for any district not subject to W.S. 21-13-102(b) whose entitlement amount determined under W.S. 21-13-311(a) for any school year is equal to or less than twenty percent (20%) of the foundation program amount computed under W.S. 21-13-309(p), and upon demonstration by the district of financial need as documented by cash flow analysis, provide payments from the school foundation program account in an amount not to exceed one-fifth (1/5) of the foundation program amount computed for that district for that school year in accordance with W.S. 21-13-309. The computed amount shall be paid to each eligible district on or before September 1 based upon tentative computations under W.S. 21-13-309, for which the department may use fiscal information available from foundation program computations for the previous school year in the manner provided under subsection (b) of this section. Any district receiving a payment under this subsection shall repay the foundation program account not later than December 15 of that school year.