Department of Education: carrying over funds

(a) The department of education may retain up to five per cent of any appropriation, except for appropriations to fund financing agreements entered into in accordance with chapter 37D, at the close of a fiscal year and the funds retained shall not lapse until June 30 of the first fiscal year of the next fiscal biennium. The department of education shall submit: (1) A report to the director of finance ninety days after the close of each fiscal year, which shall be prepared in the form prescribed by the director of finance and shall identify the total amount of funds that will carry over to the next fiscal year; and (2) A copy of this report to the legislature, as well as a report identifying the carryover of funds on a school-by-school basis, at least twenty days prior to the convening of the next regular session of the legislature. (b) Appropriations allocated to the schools shall remain within the budget of the school to which they were originally allocated; provided that the retention of an appropriation shall not be used by the department as a basis for reducing a school's future budget requirements. (c) [Repeal and reenactment on July 1, 2026. L 2024, c 10, §17.] In addition to the five per cent retainage under subsection (a), the department of education may retain any appropriation received pursuant to section 127A-16(a) or as reimbursement for disaster relief pursuant to section 127A-16(e) at the close of the fiscal year in which the appropriation or reimbursement was received, and the funds retained shall not lapse until June 30 of the first fiscal year of the next fiscal biennium. The funds shall be considered as separate and distinct from the funds the department of education is authorized to retain pursuant to subsection (a).