Senate education panel debates limits on supplemental district spending, equalization and foundation formula

The Senate Education Committee spent most of its session discussing how much additional money school districts should be allowed to raise above the state’s education opportunity payment and how any extra spending should be equalized across towns and school districts.

Committee members and staff said the bill the House sent to the Senate (H.454) would allow districts to spend an additional 10% above their education opportunity payment (EOP) — a change that, if every district used it, could add about $190 million in education spending statewide. Jake Feldman, senior fiscal analyst at the Tax Department, told the panel that the department recommends a tighter approach: a 5% limit measured on an unweighted pupil count rather than as a percentage of the EOP, which the department estimates would reduce the statewide exposure to roughly $62 million.

Why it matters: Any new supplemental spending that is not covered by state sources will raise local property taxes in the areas that choose to spend it. Committee members said the choice of base (an EOP‑based percentage versus an unweighted pupil count), the percent allowed and the equalization method will determine who pays and who benefits.

Feldman outlined the…