House subcommittee advances school-aid plan raising foundation allowance to $10,025 and rolling many categorical funds into per-pupil payments

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Department of Education advanced a school-aid budget that would raise the per-pupil foundation allowance to $10,025 and roll dozens of categorical programs into a single per-pupil payment, members and fiscal analysts said.

The measure before the panel is the House substitute for HB 45 77 (H-1). Jacqueline Mullen, senior fiscal analyst for the House Fiscal Agency, told the committee the chair’s recommendation proposes total school-aid appropriations of about $21.9 billion, a $1.1 billion (5.5%) increase from the year-to-date level, and that the House proposes a $417 (4.3%) per-pupil increase to lift the foundation allowance from $9,608 to $10,025 per pupil.

Why it matters: The proposal shifts funding away from many existing categorical line items and into a larger foundation allowance intended to give districts more flexible per-pupil funding. Fiscal staff said the proposal rolls that previously categorical money into a new section 22f payment that is split among districts, intermediate school districts (ISDs) and nonpublic schools and that the rollup will alter how specific, targeted programs are funded.

Key provisions and figures - Foundation allowance: Raises the foundation allowance to $10,025 per pupil (a $417 / 4.3% increase from $9,608). Jacqueline Mullen presented this as the house proposal’s central per-pupil increase. - Section 22f rollup: The bill consolidates many categorical appropriations into a new per-pupil payment (section 22f). Fiscal…