§ 16-7-23 Community requirements – Adequate minimum budget provision. – (a) The school committee's budget provisions of each community for current expenditures in each budget year shall provide for an amount from all sources sufficient to support the basic program and all other approved programs shared by the state. Each community shall contribute local funds to its school committee in an amount not less than its local contribution for schools in the previous fiscal year except to the extent permitted by § 16-7-23.1. Provided, that for the fiscal years 2010 and 2011 each community shall contribute to its school committee in an amount not less than ninety-five percent (95.0%) of its local contribution for schools for the fiscal year 2009. Calculation of the annual local contribution shall not include Medicaid revenues received by the municipality or district pursuant to chapter 8 of title 40. A community which has a decrease in enrollment may compute maintenance of effort on a per pupil rather than on an aggregate basis when determining its local contribution; furthermore, a community which experiences a nonrecurring expenditure for its schools may deduct the nonrecurring expenditure in computing its maintenance of effort. The deduction of nonrecurring expenditures shall be with the approval of the commissioner. The courts of this state shall enforce this section by writ of mandamus.
(b) Whenever any state funds are appropriated for educational
purposes, the funds shall be used for educational purposes only and all state
funds appropriated for educational purposes must be used to supplement any and
all money allocated by a city or town for educational purposes and, in no
event, shall state funds be used to supplant, directly or indirectly, any money
allocated by a city or town for educational purposes. All state funds shall be
appropriated by the municipality to the school committee for educational
purposes in the same fiscal year in which they are appropriated at the state
level even if the municipality has already adopted a school budget. All state
and local funds unexpended by the end of the fiscal year of appropriation shall
remain a surplus of the school committee and shall not revert to the
municipality. Any surplus of state or local funds appropriated for educational
purposes shall not in any respect affect the requirement that each community
contribute local funds in an amount not less than its local contribution for
schools in the previous fiscal year, subject to subsection (a) of this section,
and shall not in any event be deducted from the amount of the local
appropriation required to meet the maintenance of effort provision in any given
year.
(P.L. 1960, ch. 27, § 10; P.L. 1994, ch. 70, art. 15, § 1; P.L. 1995,
ch. 370, art. 18, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 100, art. 22, § 3; P.L. 1997,
ch. 30, art. 31, § 2; P.L. 1998, ch. 31, art. 31, § 4; P.L. 2000, ch.
55, art. 13, § 2; P.L. 2001, ch. 77, art. 22, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86,
§ 31; P.L. 2003, ch. 376, art. 9, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 246, art. 19,
§ 1; P.L. 2010, ch. 23, art. 13, § 2; P.L. 2010, ch. 124, § 1;
P.L. 2010, ch. 125, § 1.)