Education finance: school district finances: Educational Employment Relations Act.

(1) Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to take certain actions if, at any time during the fiscal year, the county superintendent determines that a school district may be unable to meet its financial obligations for the current or 2 subsequent fiscal years or if the district would have a qualified or negative certification, as specified, including, among others, notifying, and performing certain actions with the consultation of, the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Existing law establishes a process to appeal these determinations of the county superintendent by appealing to the Superintendent, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent to monitor the efforts of a county office of education in exercising its authority under these provisions, and authorizes the Superintendent to exercise any of that authority if the Superintendent finds that the actions of the county superintendent of schools are not effective in resolving the financial problems of the school district. This bill, if a county superintendent of schools disapproves a school district's budget for a subsequent year, would continue the authority of the county superintendent of schools to stay or rescind any action of the school district governing board that is determined to be inconsistent with the ability of the school district to meet its obligations for the current or subsequent fiscal year, without interruption, until the next subsequent year's budget is approved by the county superintendent of schools. (2) Existing law, commonly referred to as the Educational Employment Relations Act, authorizes public school employees to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations, as specified. The act establishes a process for an employee organization to become the exclusive representative of an appropriate unit for purposes of meeting and negotiating, as specified. The act requires a school district to provide the county superintendent of schools, upon request, with all information relevant to provide an understanding of the financial impact of any final collective bargaining agreement reached between a public school employer and the exclusive representative of school district employees, as specified. Existing law requires the superintendent and chief business official of a school district to certify in writing that the costs incurred by the school district under a collective bargaining agreement can be met by the district during the term of the agreement. This bill would require the superintendent and the chief business official of a school district to provide the written certification described above under penalty of perjury. The bill would also require, before a public school employer enters into a written agreement with a nonrepresented employee or group of nonrepresented employees, that the major provisions of the agreement, including, but not limited to, the costs that would be incurred by the public school employer under the term of the agreement for the current and subsequent fiscal years, be disclosed at a public meeting of the public school employer. To the extent that the requirement for disclosure at a public meeting would create new duties for a public school employer, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require the superintendent and the chief business official of the school district to certify in writing, and under penalty of perjury, that costs incurred by the school district under the agreement can be met by the school district during the term of the agreement, in a manner similar to that required with respect to an agreement with an exclusive representative. By adding the requirement that the written certifications described above be provided under penalty of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.