The State of Arkansas General Revenue Forecast for fiscal year 2002 was revised downward by 29 million dollars on April 17, 2002. Correspondingly, the Public School Fund appropriation has been reduced by $13,688,148. The Department will recommend that the State Board of Education reduce State Equalization Aid by 85%, or $11,634,925 at the May 13 meeting. The Department intends to absorb the remainder through budget savings and balances. The revised Public School Fund Budget will be distributed after Board approval.
Attached is a spreadsheet containing new estimates of State Equalization Aid, General Facilities Funding, Debt Service Funding Supplement, Student Growth Funding, Additional Base Funding, and Incentive Funding for each district. These estimates are provided strictly for planning purposes, and are not to be considered as an official funding run. An official "print out" run will be distributed subsequent to State Board approval of revisions to the Public School Fund. These estimates are based on the following projections:
Base Local Revenue per Student is $4,541.70, down $26.18. Minimum State and Local Revenue per Student is $4,810.40, down $20.94
The Teacher Compensation Act of 2001 stipulated that any budget cuts taken from State Equalization Funding would result in a proportional reduction in the $1,000 teacher raise requirement for 2001-2002. The salary requirement for this year has been eliminated.