HCS HB 529 Black, John Committee
HCS HB 529 -- PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING
SPONSOR: Black
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education by a vote of 16 to 0. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Administrative Oversight" by a vote of 9 to 0.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 529.
This bill modifies the current funding calculation for state aid for public schools. The current calculation is based on data from 2004 and is capped at a 5% annual increase from the state revenue received by a district in the 2004-05 school term.
Beginning with fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the bill allows for a percentage increase as follows:
(1) For fiscal years 2025 and 2026 the increase shall not exceed 6%;
(2) For fiscal years 2027 and 2028 the increase shall not exceed 7%;
(3) For fiscal years 2029 and 2030 the increase shall not exceed 8%; and
(4) For fiscal years 2031 and 2032 and beyond the increase shall not exceed 9%.
Currently, 75% of state revenue received by a district, as specified in the bill, is placed in a fund for teachers and the remaining 25% be placed in an incidental fund. The bill requires that beginning in 2025, 85% of any increase to revenue be placed in the teacher fund with the remaining 15% to be placed in the incidental fund.
Currently, the calculation for the weighted average daily attendance includes a multiplier of .75 per special education pupil over the state adequacy threshold. This language increases the count that by .25 to an even one per student over the special education threshold.
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that while this is not an "overhaul" of the formula the changes provided will create additional growth to the amount of funding for public schools. This language provides a cap for superintendent salaries and would not necessarily impact "hold harmless" districts although it could move some of those districts onto the formula.
Testifying in person for the bill was Representative Black.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
OTHERS: Others testifying on the bill say the fiscal note provided does show potential growth as a reflection of this change, however the numbers used to generate the note are based on a past reflection that attempts to predict future amounts. As more money is added to the formula the additional infusion of money will then create additional changes to the current operating expenditure for the top performing schools which are not able to be predicted thus the calculation is just a potential reflection.
Testifying in person on the bill was Kari Monsees, Department of Elementary And Secondary Education.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.