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Talent council directs staff to draft statement supporting HB 3149 for fire‑impacted school districts
Summary
The Talent City Council voted to direct the city manager to develop a statement backing House Bill 3149, which would extend state ADM-related funding that Phoenix‑Talent Schools says expires June 30, 2025.
The Talent City Council on Wednesday directed the city manager to draft a statement on behalf of the city supporting House Bill 3149 and urging continued state support of school districts affected by the 2020 fires.
Phoenix‑Talent Schools Superintendent Brent Berry told the council that the state funding that helped the district following the 2020 fires "ends 06/30/2025," and that the district has been shrinking staff while student enrollment has remained steady. "We have attritioned positions over the last several years. Our student population has stayed here," Berry said, explaining why the temporary funding extension matters.
The council moved to have the city prepare a support letter and to present that position at the bill's public hearing if appropriate. There was no additional public testimony on the matter at the meeting. Council members raised no objections and the motion carried on a roll‑call vote.
Nut graf: The council's direction asks the city manager to prepare a formal statement backing HB 3149 so Talent can register local support for a bill intended to extend state aid tied to average daily membership (ADM) funding that district and regional officials say helped recovery after the September 2020 fires.
Councilors did not debate the detailed language of the statement at the meeting; the instruction was procedural and directs staff to draft the text for council review. Superintendent Berry framed the request as a short‑term stopgap to allow the district to close persistent gaps between FTE staffing and ADM counts while enrollment recovers.
Background: Berry said the ADM support had previously been provided through state ADM security dollars led by state legislators and that the funding gave the district time to align staffing to enrollment. The council's action does not appropriate funds or change local policy; it directs staff to prepare a written expression of support for the pending state bill.
Ending: The council approved the direction to staff and did not set a separate follow‑up date; the prepared statement will return to council when staff submits a draft for review or as the bill approaches a public hearing.
