15-973. Apportionment of funds; expenditure limitation

A. The state board of education shall apportion state aid from appropriations made for that purpose to the several counties on the basis of state aid entitlement for the school districts in each county. An allowance shall not be made for nonresident alien children or for wards of the United States for whom tuition is paid, but attendance of a student in a school of a county adjoining the county of the student's residence outside the state under a certificate of educational convenience as provided by section 15-825 shall be deemed to be enrollment in the school of the county or school district of the student's residence.

B. Apportionments shall be made as follows:

1. By the close of business on the first day of business of August, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

2. By the close of business on the first day of business of September, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

3. By the close of business on the first day of business of October, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

4. By the close of business on the first day of business of November, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

5. By the close of business on the first day of business of December, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

6. By the close of business on the first day of business of January, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

7. By the close of business on the first day of business of February, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

8. By the close of business on the first day of business of March, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

9. By the close of business on the first day of business of April, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

10. By the close of business on the first day of business of May, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

11. By the close of business on the first day of business of June, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

12. By the close of business on the last day of business of June, one-twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.

The superintendent of public instruction shall furnish to the county treasurer and the county school superintendent an abstract of the apportionment and shall certify the apportionment to the department of administration, which shall draw its warrant in favor of the county treasurer of each county for the amount apportioned. On receipt of the warrant, the county treasurer shall notify the county school superintendent of the amount, together with any other monies standing to the credit of that school district, in the county school fund.

C. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, if sufficient appropriated monies are available and on a showing by a school district that additional state monies are necessary for current expenses, an apportionment or part of an apportionment of state aid may be paid to the school district prior to the date set for that apportionment by subsection B of this section. A school district may not receive more than three-fourths of its total apportionment before May 1 of the fiscal year. Early payments pursuant to this subsection must be approved by the state treasurer, the director of the department of administration and the superintendent of public instruction.

D. The superintendent of public instruction shall not make application to the federal government to utilize title VIII of the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 monies in determining the apportionment prescribed in this section.

E. If a school district that is eligible to receive monies pursuant to this article is unable to meet a scheduled payment on any lawfully incurred long-term obligation for debt service as provided in section 15-1022, the county treasurer shall use any amount distributed pursuant to this section to make the payment. The county treasurer shall keep a record of all the instances in which a payment is made pursuant to this subsection. Any monies subsequently collected by the district to make the scheduled payment shall be used to replace the amount diverted pursuant to this subsection. When determining the total amount to be funded by a levy of secondary taxes on property within the school district for the following fiscal year, the county board of supervisors shall add to the amounts budgeted to be expended during the following fiscal year an amount equal to the total of all payments pursuant to this subsection during the current fiscal year that were not repaid during the current year.

F. The total amount of state monies that may be spent in any fiscal year by the state board of education for apportionment of state aid for education shall not exceed the amount appropriated or authorized by section 35-173 for that purpose. This section does not impose a duty on an officer, agent or employee of this state to discharge a responsibility or create any right in a person or group if the discharge or right would require an expenditure of state monies in excess of the expenditure authorized by legislative appropriation for that specific purpose.