Sec 15-365. Service programs operated through the office of a county school superintendent; reports; definitions

A. The county school superintendent may establish service programs that shall be available to any county free library district, municipal library or local school district governing board officially requesting such programs.

B. Both central administrative costs and general service costs shall be shared on a user basis and budgeted and paid as contract costs by the districts using such programs, except as provided in subsections E, F and H of this section.

C. Agreements or contracts entered into pursuant to this section shall not be subject to title 11, chapter 7, article 3 relating to intergovernmental agreements and contracts.

D. Each county school superintendent shall submit to the school districts involved and to the board of supervisors no later than May 31 of each year a program progress report and a fiscal report, including actual expenditures through March 31 and estimates for the remainder of the fiscal year on each service program in operation in such county.

E. County school superintendents may establish special small district service programs designed to meet the special needs of school districts with a total student count of fewer than six hundred in such areas as administrative assistance and specialized services as follows:

1. For counties with seven or more school districts with a student count of fewer than six hundred, the small district service program may serve a single county or two or more counties.

2. Except as provided in subsection I of this section, for counties with fewer than seven school districts with a student count of fewer than six hundred, the small district service program shall serve two or more counties as determined by the superintendent of public instruction.

F. The costs of the small district service program are payable in part from the small district service program fund. Costs in excess of the amount available in the small district service program fund shall be shared on a user basis and budgeted and paid as contract costs by the district using such programs. The small district service program fund for each program shall consist of a base amount plus a per district amount for each school district in the county or counties served which has a student count of fewer than six hundred. For fiscal year 1989-1990, the base amount is fifty-six thousand four hundred ninety-four dollars and the per district amount is five thousand eighty-four dollars. Beginning with fiscal year 1990-1991, the base amount and per district amount are the amounts for the prior year adjusted by the growth rate prescribed by law, subject to appropriation. The base amount and per district amount for each county or counties served shall be funded with state general fund monies, subject to appropriation. The county school superintendent must submit claims for payments to the state superintendent of public instruction. The county school superintendent shall deposit the payments into the small district service program fund.

G. School districts that provide only financing for pupils who are instructed by another district shall be included in determining the number of districts counted for the small district service program fund.

H. For each small district service program that serves two or more counties, a county of jurisdiction shall be selected by the superintendent of public instruction. Payment shall be made into the small district service program fund in the county of jurisdiction from monies that are received from the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to this section for all counties served by the county of jurisdiction.

I. If a small district service program is established before fiscal year 1987-1988, the program may continue to operate as a single county program if the county contains fewer than seven, but at least four, school districts with a student count of fewer than six hundred.

J. A school district with a student count of six hundred or more in the current year that participated in a small district service program and had a student count of fewer than six hundred in the prior year may continue to participate in the program for the current year and one additional year. The amount in the small district service program fund shall be determined as if the district had a student count of fewer than six hundred.

K. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Central administrative costs" means only those costs that are incurred by the county school superintendent in administering any service program that benefits all the school districts in the program and that are shared on a user basis and budgeted and paid as contract costs by districts, except as provided in subsections E, F and H of this section.

2. "General service costs" means those costs that are directly related to each of the service programs, that are shared on a user basis and that are budgeted and paid as contract costs by districts, except as provided in subsections E, F and H of this section.

3. "Service programs" means those programs that can be accomplished more efficiently and economically as multidistrict or multicounty operations.

4. "Student count" means the student count as defined in section 15-901, subsection A, except that it shall not include pupils enrolled in grades nine through twelve to whom the district does not provide instruction if the district is a common school district that is not within a high school district.