Sec. 14.17.520. - Minimum expenditure for instruction. - Alaska Statutes

(a) A district shall budget for and spend a minimum of 70 percent of its school operating expenditures in each fiscal year on the instructional component of the district budget.

(b) The commissioner shall reject a district budget that does not comply with (a) of this section and, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this section, shall withhold payments of state aid from that district, beginning with the payment for the second full month after rejection and continuing until the school board of the district revises the district budget to comply with (a) of this section.

(c) The commissioner shall review the annual audit of each district for compliance with the expenditure requirements of (a) of this section. If the commissioner determines that a district does not meet those requirements, the commissioner shall advise the district of the determination, calculate the amount of the deficiency, and deduct that amount from state aid paid to the district for the current fiscal year. A deduction in state aid required under this subsection begins with the payment for the second full month after the determination, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this section.

(d) A district that has been determined by the commissioner to be out of compliance with the requirements of this section may, within 20 days of the commissioner's determination, request a waiver by the board of the imposition by the commissioner of any reduction in state aid payments under (b) or (c) of this section. The request must be in writing and must include an analysis of the reasons and causes for the district's inability to comply with the requirements of this section. The board may grant the waiver if the board determines that the district's failure to meet the expenditure requirements of this section was due to circumstances beyond the control of the district. The request must also be submitted to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, which shall review the district's request and forward the committee's recommendations on it to the board.

(e) The commissioner shall submit an annual report on actions taken by the commissioner or the board under this section to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee by April 15 of each year.

(f) In this section, "instructional component" includes expenditures for teachers and for pupil support services.