Senate Bill 2276er
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1998 Legislature SB 2276
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2 An act relating to Florida School Improvement
3 and Academic Achievement Trust Fund grants;
4 amending s. 236.1229, F.S.; revising funding,
5 allocation, and district-level administration;
6 providing an effective date.
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8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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10 Section 1. Section 236.1229, Florida Statutes, is
11 amended to read:
12 236.1229 Florida School Improvement and Academic
13 Achievement Trust Fund grants.--
14 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The Legislature recognizes
15 that private contributions can play an important role in
16 enabling school districts to achieve a margin of excellence
17 within existing state and local funding. It is, therefore,
18 the intent of the Legislature to provide each school district
19 with the opportunity to receive private donations and provide
20 private donors with an incentive in the form of matching
21 grants for contributions for the improvement of schools and
22 academic programs within the district school system.
23 (2) FUNDING.--The Florida School Improvement and
24 Academic Achievement Trust Fund shall be utilized to provide
25 challenge grants and matching endowment grants to public
26 school district education foundations school boards that meet
27 the requirements of this section and are recognized as such by
28 the Florida Education Foundation. All funds appropriated or
29 retained in the trust fund shall be invested pursuant to s.
30 18.125. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301, and
31 pursuant to s. 216.351, any undisbursed balance remaining in
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1998 Legislature SB 2276
1 the trust fund and interest accruing to that portion of the
2 trust fund not matched and distributed to the public school
3 district education foundations school boards shall remain in
4 the trust fund and shall increase the total funds available
5 for challenge grants and matching endowment grants.
6 (3) ADMINISTRATION.--The Commissioner of Education
7 shall specify procedures for submitting, documenting, and
8 approving requests for matching funds and for maintaining
9 accountability for endowments and the proceeds of endowments;
10 and establish restrictions on the use of proceeds from
11 endowments. The commissioner shall specify conditions under
12 which matching funds may be encumbered by a down payment and a
13 pledged schedule of future contributions. Such conditions
14 shall include conditions of default and reinstatement of
15 defaulted pledges.
16 (4) ALLOCATION OF THE TRUST FUND.--Funds appropriated
17 to the trust fund shall be allocated by the Department of
18 Education in the following manner:
19 (a) For every year in which there is a legislative
20 appropriation to the trust fund, an equal amount of the annual
21 appropriation, to be determined by dividing the total
22 legislative appropriation by the number of local education
23 foundations, the lesser of the amount appropriated divided by
24 the number of districts or $10,000 must be reserved for to
25 provide each public school district education foundation to
26 provide each foundation school board with an opportunity to
27 receive and match a challenge grant. The balance of the funds
28 shall be available for matching by any district school board
29 Trust funds that which remain unmatched by contribution on
30 March 1 of any year shall also be available for matching by
31 any public school district education foundation or by the
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1998 Legislature SB 2276
1 Department of Education Florida Education Foundation school
2 board. The commissioner shall adopt procedures providing all
3 public school district education foundations school boards
4 with an opportunity to apply for excess trust funds prior to
5 awarding such funds. However, no public school district
6 education foundation school board may receive more than its
7 percentage of the total full-time equivalent enrollment or 15
8 percent, whichever is greater, of the funds appropriated to
9 the trust fund for that fiscal year.
10 (b) Challenge grants shall be proportionately
11 allocated from the trust fund on the basis of matching each $4
12 of state funds with $6 of private funds. To be eligible for
13 matching, a minimum of $4,500 must be raised from private
14 sources.
15 (c) Funds sufficient to provide the match shall be
16 transferred from the state trust fund to the public school
17 education foundation upon notification that a proportionate
18 amount has been received and deposited by the foundation in
19 its own trust fund.
20 (b) Contributions made after June 1, 1995, for a
21 specific purpose other than those enumerated in paragraphs (c)
22 and (d) shall be matched in the following manner:
23 1. Each school district that raises a contribution of
24 at least $50,000, but no more than $99,000, from a private
25 source shall receive a matching grant equal to 25 percent of
26 the private contribution.
27 2. Each school district that raises a contribution of
28 at least $100,000, but no more than $599,999, from a private
29 source shall receive a matching grant equal to 50 percent of
30 the private contribution.
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1 3. Each school district that raises a contribution of
2 at least $600,000, but no more than $1 million, from a private
3 source shall receive a matching grant equal to 70 percent of
4 the private contribution.
5 4. Each school district that raises a contribution in
6 excess of $1 million, but no more than $1.5 million, from a
7 private source shall receive a matching grant equal to 75
8 percent of the private contribution.
9 5. Each school district that raises a contribution in
10 excess of $1.5 million, but no more than $2 million, from a
11 private source shall receive a matching grant equal to 80
12 percent of the private contribution.
13 6. Each school district that raises a contribution in
14 excess of $2 million from a private source shall receive a
15 matching grant equal to 100 percent of the private
16 contribution.
17 (c) Contributions made after June 1, 1995, for the
18 establishment of an endowment to be used at the discretion of
19 the district school board for improving schools and academic
20 achievement within the school district, which is not
21 restricted for use by a specific school, discipline, or
22 program, and which is at least in the amount of $100,000,
23 shall be matched at the rate of 70 percent of the private
24 contribution.
25 (d) Contributions made after June 1, 1995, for the
26 establishment of an endowment to be used at the discretion of
27 the district school board for improving schools and academic
28 achievement within the school district, which is not
29 restricted for use by a specific school, discipline, or
30 program, and which is in excess of the amount of $1 million,
31 shall be matched pursuant to paragraph (b).
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1 (e) Pledged contributions shall be eligible for
2 matching pursuant to this section, provided that such
3 contributions shall not be eligible for matching prior to the
4 actual collection of the total contribution.
5 (d) Matching grants shall be distributed on the last
6 day of each calendar quarter. If the total of the amounts to
7 be distributed in any quarter pursuant to this subsection
8 exceeds the amount of funds remaining from specific
9 appropriations made for the implementation of this section,
10 all grants for that quarter shall be proportionately reduced
11 so that the total of matching grants distributed does not
12 exceed available appropriations.
13 (5) DISTRICT-LEVEL ADMINISTRATION.--
14 (a) Each public school district education foundation
15 school board participating in the Florida School Improvement
16 and Academic Achievement Trust Fund shall separately account
17 for all funds received pursuant to this section, including
18 interest, and may establish its own school improvement and
19 academic achievement trust fund as a depository for the a
20 District School Improvement and Academic Achievement Trust
21 Fund. The sources of funds shall be private contributions,
22 state matching funds, and interest earnings on investments of
23 such funds. State matching funds shall be transferred to the
24 public school district education foundation upon notification
25 that the foundation district school board direct-support
26 organization has received and deposited private contributions
27 that meet a private contribution which meets the criteria for
28 matching as provided in this section. The public school
29 district education foundations are responsible for the
30 maintenance, investment, and administration of their school
31 improvement and academic improvement trust funds.
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1 (b) The public school district education foundation
2 direct-support organization serving the district school board
3 shall be responsible for soliciting and receiving
4 contributions to be deposited and matched with challenge
5 grants for establishing endowments for school improvement and
6 academic achievement within the school district.
7 (c) Each public school district education foundation
8 school board shall be responsible for proper expenditure of
9 the funds received pursuant to this section.
10 (6) PROHIBITED USES.--The donations, state matching
11 funds, or proceeds from endowments established pursuant to
12 this section shall be used at the discretion of the public
13 school district education foundation for improving schools and
14 academic achievement within the school district and shall not
15 be expended for the construction of facilities or for the
16 support of interscholastic athletics. No public school
17 district education foundation school board or district school
18 board direct-support organization shall accept or purchase
19 facilities for which the state will be asked for operating
20 funds unless the Legislature has granted prior approval for
21 such acquisition.
22 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.
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