Section 20-2-162. Annual recalculation of amount of funding; midterm adjustment

   (a) The State Board of Education shall annually recalculate the total amount needed under the Quality Basic Education Formula for the midterm adjustment for the current fiscal year using the average of the first and the projected second full-time equivalent counts for the current fiscal year, with the first full-time equivalent count weighted two parts and the projected second full-time equivalent count weighted one part. If the total amount needed by each local school system when recalculated is greater than the initial amount calculated, then the state board shall increase the total allotment for said system by the difference between the recalculation and the initial calculation. All funds allocated as the result of this recalculation to a local school system for direct instructional costs as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-167 shall be applied to the direct instructional costs of the instructional programs specified in Code Section 20-2-161 which had full-time equivalent counts pursuant to this Code section that are higher than the full-time equivalent counts upon which the initial allocations were based. The balance of the funds allocated to a local school system as the result of this recalculation must be applied to items specified in Code Sections 20-2-182 through 20-2-186 for instructional programs specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-161 and shall not be expended for any program or service explicitly excluded from the full-time equivalent count in Code Section 20-2-160. The total amount of increased funding required by the midterm adjustment shall be requested by the state board and shall demonstrate for each receiving local school system the average full-time equivalent count used in the initial calculation compared to the midterm average count for each program category system wide. If the recalculation for a local school system is less than the initial calculation, the amount of funds initially allotted to the system shall not be reduced for the current fiscal year. Local school systems which fail to provide the state board with complete full-time equivalent student counts by instructional program in the manner and by dates prescribed by the state board shall not be eligible for recalculation of their current year allotment.

(b) A midterm adjustment in a local school system's local five mill share shall be made if:

   (1) The most recent actual property tax digest for educational maintenance and operation of a local school system, as approved by the Department of Revenue, is less than the actual property tax digest for educational maintenance and operation approved by the Department of Revenue for the year used initially to calculate the system's local five mill share pursuant to Code Section 20-2-164, and such reduction is due to more accurate assessments or actual loss in tangible property or a combination of these factors as determined by the Department of Revenue; and

   (2) The most recent equalized adjusted school property tax digest for the local school system is less than the equalized adjusted school property tax digest for the year used initially to calculate the system's local five mill share.

Such a midterm adjustment shall be made by reducing the initial local five mill share by the percentage decrease over the most recent two years in the actual property tax digest for educational maintenance and operation. The gross value of property prior to deduction of any exemptions shall be used throughout the calculations under this subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to the midterm adjustment of local five mill share as provided in this Code section.

Code 1981, § 20-2-162, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1169, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1991, § 2; Ga. L. 1989, p. 687, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1354, § 3; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1335, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 22.