Texas Education Code 48.273 – Foundation School Fund Transfers
(a) In this section:
(1) “Category 1 school district” means a school district having a wealth per student of less than one-half of the statewide average wealth per student.
(2) “Category 2 school district” means a school district having a wealth per student of at least one-half of the statewide average wealth per student but not more than the statewide average wealth per student.
(3) “Category 3 school district” means a school district having a wealth per student of more than the statewide average wealth per student.
(4) “Wealth per student” means the taxable property values reported by the comptroller to the commissioner under § 48.256 divided by the number of students in average daily attendance.
(b) Payments from the foundation school fund to each category 1 school district shall be made as follows:
(1) 15 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of September of a fiscal year;
(2) 80 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in eight equal installments to be made on or before the 25th day of October, November, December, January, March, May, June, and July; and
(3) five percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of February.
Terms Used In Texas Education Code 48.273
- Comptroller: means the state comptroller of public accounts. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Payments from the foundation school fund to each category 2 school district shall be made as follows:
(1) 22 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of September of a fiscal year;
(2) 18 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of October;
(3) 9.5 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of November;
(4) 7.5 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of April;
(5) five percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of May;
(6) 10 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of June;
(7) 13 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of July; and
(8) 15 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of August.
(d) Payments from the foundation school fund to each category 3 school district shall be made as follows:
(1) 45 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of September of a fiscal year;
(2) 35 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of October; and
(3) 20 percent of the yearly entitlement of the district shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day of August.
(e) The amount of any installment required by this section may be modified to provide a school district with the proper amount to which the district may be entitled by law and to correct errors in the allocation or distribution of funds. If an installment under this section is required to be equal to other installments, the amount of other installments may be adjusted to provide for that equality. A payment under this section is not invalid because it is not equal to other installments.
(f) Previously unpaid additional funds from prior fiscal years owed to a district shall be paid to the district together with the September payment of the current fiscal year entitlement.
(g) The commissioner shall make all annual Foundation School Program payments under this section for purposes described by Sections 45.252(a)(1) and (2) before the deadline established under § 45.263(b) for payment of debt service on bonds. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the commissioner may make Foundation School Program payments under this section after the deadline established under § 45.263(b) only if the commissioner has not received notice under § 45.258 concerning a district’s failure or inability to pay matured principal or interest on bonds.