ORS 327.077: Remote small elementary school and small high school determination; effect; waiver; merger.

(1) For purposes of this section: (a) The “adjusted average daily membership” or “ADMa” for an elementary school is the average daily membership for the school, but no less than 25. (b) The “adjusted average daily membership” or “ADMa” for a high school is the average daily membership for the school, but no less than 60. (2)(a) A school may qualify as a remote small elementary school if the average daily membership in kindergarten through grade eight for an elementary school teaching: (A) Nine grades is below 252. (B) Eight grades is below 224. (C) Seven grades is below 196. (D) Six grades is below 168. (E) Five grades is below 140. (F) Four grades is below 112. (G) Three grades is below 84. (H) Two grades is below 56. (I) One grade is below 28. (b) For purposes of this subsection, kindergarten may be included in the calculation for determining the number of grades at an elementary school only if the kindergarten is full-day kindergarten. (3) A school may qualify as a small high school if: (a) The school is in a school district that has an ADMw of less than 9,500; and (b) The average daily membership in grades 9 through 12 for a high school teaching: (A) Four grades is below 350. (B) Three grades is below 267. (4) An elementary school does not qualify as a remote small elementary school under subsection (2) of this section if it is within eight miles by the nearest traveled road from another elementary school in the same school district unless there are physiographic conditions that make transportation to another school not feasible. (5)(a) If an elementary school in a school district qualifies as a remote small elementary school, the district shall have an additional amount added to the district’s ADMw. (b) The additional amount = {252 − (ADMa ¸ (number of grades in the school ¸ nine))} ´ 0.0045 ´ ADMa ´ distance adjustment. (6)(a) If a high school in a district qualifies as a small high school, the district shall have an additional amount added to the district’s ADMw. (b) The additional amount = {350 − (ADMa ¸ (number of grades in the school ¸ four))} ´ 0.0029 ´ ADMa. (7) The distance adjustment for an elementary school = 0.025 for each 10th of a mile more than eight miles that a school is away from the nearest elementary school in the same school district measured by the nearest traveled road or 1.0, whichever is less. (8)(a) A school may qualify as a remote small elementary school under this section only if the location of the school has not changed since January 1, 1995, and if the school qualified as a remote small school on August 2, 2011. (b) A school may qualify as a small high school under this section only if: (A) The location of the school has not changed since January 1, 1995; (B) The school qualified as a small high school on July 23, 2009; and (C) On or after October 23, 1999, and prior to July 23, 2009, the school was not part of a high school that divided or otherwise reorganized into two or more high schools in the same city. (c) A public charter school as defined in ORS 338.005 may qualify as a remote small elementary school under this section only if the location of the school has not changed since January 1, 1995, and if the school qualified as a remote small school on August 2, 2011. (d) A public charter school as defined in ORS 338.005 may qualify as a small high school under this section only if the location of the school has not changed since January 1, 1995, and if the school qualified as a nonchartered public remote small school on July 18, 1995. (e) The Superintendent of Public Instruction may waive the requirements of paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of this subsection if the superintendent determines that exceptional circumstances exist. (f) An alternative education program as defined in ORS 336.615 may not qualify as a small high school under this section. (9) The opening of a public charter school shall not disqualify a school as a remote small elementary school under subsection (4) of this section or change the distance adjustment for a school under subsection (7) of this section. (10)(a) Notwithstanding subsections (3), (6) and (8)(b) and (d) of this section, if two high schools merge and prior to the merger at least one of the high schools qualified as a small high school under this section, the Department of Education shall continue to add an additional amount pursuant to subsection (6) of this section to the ADMw of the school district in which the new merged high school is located that is equal to the higher of: (A) The additional amount the school district of each of the former small high schools would have received under this section for the small high school based on the ADMa of each of the high schools prior to the merger; or (B) In the case of a high school that remains qualified as a small high school under subsection (3) of this section after a merger, the ADMa of the merged small high school. (b) The department shall add the additional amount under this subsection only for the first four fiscal years after the merger of the two high schools is final. If the merger of the two high schools becomes final on or before September 1, for purposes of this paragraph the merger shall be considered final in the prior fiscal year. (11)(a) Notwithstanding the distance provisions of subsections (4) and (7) of this section, if two or more school districts merge and, prior to the merger, at least one of the districts had one or more remote small elementary schools for which the district received an additional amount added to the district’s ADMw as provided by this section, the district shall continue to qualify for and have an additional amount added to the district’s ADMw for each elementary school that qualified as a remote small elementary school prior to the merger, based on distance calculations made before the merger, as long as the elementary school continues to satisfy the average daily membership requirements identified in subsection (2) of this section. (b) Notwithstanding the school district ADMw requirements of subsection (3)(a) of this section, if two or more school districts merge and, prior to the merger, at least one of the districts had one or more small high schools for which the district received an additional amount added to the district’s ADMw as provided by this section, the district shall continue to have an additional amount added to the district’s ADMw for each high school that qualified as a small high school prior to the merger even if the district no longer satisfies the ADMw requirement of subsection (3)(a) of this section as long as the high school continues to satisfy the average daily membership requirements identified in subsection (3)(b) of this section. [1995 c.649 §2; 1999 c.200 §27; 1999 c.1066 §22; 2003 c.715 §32; 2009 c.705 §§5,7; 2009 c.800 §1; 2011 c.704 §8; 2011 c.710 §§1,2; 2019 c.657 §1; 2023 c.332 §1]