A wrinkle on that SEEK base cut

For 2009-10, the budget amendments being considered in House Bill 1 provides a smaller SEEK base guarantee than the budget adopted last year (as discussed here).

But there's a twist.

House Bill 1 does not cut total SEEK funding.

So, what happens to the dollars that aren't going to the guarantee, and to the other parts of SEEK that are calculated from the guarantee?

House Bill 1 also says:

If excess funds are available after the final SEEK calculation in fiscal year 2009-2010, these and all available funds shall be distributed to school districts in accordance with KRS 157.310 to 157.440, as amended by 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 53, secs. 1 and 2, ch. 74, secs. 1 and 2, and ch. 88, sec. 4, notwithstanding KRS 157.360(2)(c).

Living dangerously, I'll venture a guess about how that's supposed to work:

1. The remaining dollars won't be paid out month-by-month over the whole year.
2. If the economy turns out even worse than forecast, those dollars won't ever be paid.
3. If the economy and state revenue do work out as predicted, then districts will receive the added funding sometime close to the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year.
   

It also seems like a good time to mention that House Bill 1, like all legislation, is a work in progress, subject to many, many changes before it becomes law. It is far from settled that what I've described above will be in the final version.