House plan raises per‑pupil foundation, rolls many categoricals into one payment and tightens school reporting

The House Appropriations Committee voted to adopt the H‑1 substitute to House Bill 45‑77, the state school aid appropriation, advancing the funding plan that raises the foundation allowance and repurposes many ongoing categorical grants into a single per‑pupil payment.

House Fiscal analyst Jacqueline Mullen summarized the proposal and told members the House would increase the foundation allowance by $417 per pupil (a 4.3% increase) to $10,025 and create a new per‑pupil payment (section 22f) funded largely by rolling up existing categorical line items. Mullen said the House provides $3.1 billion in roll‑up funding that, when combined with other per‑pupil payments, is intended to simplify the formula while adding hold‑harmless language (section 22h) so districts and ISDs are protected from reductions caused by the reallocation.

Why it matters: The change alters how districts receive state support by converting…