To provide a “template” or “place holder” for a Fiscal Year 2013-2014 K-12 School Aid budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.   Official Text and Analysis.

With the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.

To adopt a version of this budget that expresses the fiscal and policy preferences of the Republican-majority in the Senate on various spending details.

To add $83.2 million in spending for school district "technology improvements" related to proposed "computer adaptive" tests, with the money coming from the state rainy day fund.

To not use tax revenues earmarked to the state School Aid Fund in the university and community college budgets, but instead use non-earmarked revenue. Although the state constitution explicitly authorizes using SAF money for higher education, the public school establishment contends that the 1994 Proposal A initiative earmarking a sales tax increase to the SAF means it can only be used for K-12 schools.

To strip out a provision increasing the amount of online courses students could take in public schools.

To strip out a provision allocating $46 million to districts on the basis of their adopting certain specified "best practices," and instead distribute the money on a per-pupil basis.

To strip out a provision authorizing a technology-based certification program in collaboration with a private information technology company.

To eliminate use of a "blended" pupil count formula that bases school district grants partly on the number of students they had in the previous school year.

To strip out $18 million proposed for adopting "computer adaptive" tests, and use this to increase spending on adult education programs.

The vote by which the fifth set of amendments offered by Senator Hopgood were not adopted.

To tie-bar the bill to Senate Bill 295, meaning this bill cannot become law unless that one does also. SB 290 would allow school districts to use a “sinking fund” property tax of up to 5 mills to buy or fix school buses, computers and software, or security equipment.

To revise funding related to "catching up" on unfunded liabilities in school employee pension system. The amendment essentially distributes "catch up" money to districts on the basis of their payroll, rather than giving individual school districts higher per-pupil foundation grants using a formula that would allocate more for lower-spending districts.

To strip out a provision allocating more money to lower-spending school districts. A related amendment allocates more money to districts on the basis of payroll, and in intended to mitigate higher pension costs.

To increase funding for districts with a higher proportion of students from low income households.

The Senate version of the K-12 school aid budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct 1, 2013. It would appropriate $13.225 billion for K-12 public schools, compared to $12.944 billion this year.

To adopt a version of the budget that contains no appropriations, intended to launch negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.

To send the bill back to the Senate "stripped" of all actual appropriations. This vote is basically a procedural method of launching negotiations to work out the differences between the House and Senate budgets.

To concur with the House-passed version of the bill. The vote sends the measure to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences.