Lawmakers hear rural school, business and municipal concerns about H.454 funding and tax provisions

At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Education, witnesses representing rural school districts, small businesses and municipal collectors urged lawmakers to proceed cautiously with House Bill 454, the wide-ranging education finance and property-tax measure now under consideration.

Ryan Herdy, superintendent (as stated in testimony), and Jeanne Howard of the Rural Schools Community Alliance told the committee that a cost-based foundation formula could improve transparency but would require careful district-level review, professional-judgment panels and a detailed transition plan to avoid sudden budget and tax shifts. Herdy said consolidation "does not necessarily lead to cost savings," and presented district-level salary comparisons showing that leveling contract pay across merged districts could raise teacher-salary costs by roughly $3,000,000 in one modeled scenario.

The issue matters, witnesses said, because state education spending surged in fiscal 2025 and some districts added many support positions while statewide enrollment fell. Herdy summarized those dynamics: "in FY25, we have the largest increase in education spending on record" while student counts "decreased by about 6,000." He and other speakers urged the committee to pair any foundation formula with cost and quality monitoring at the district level so resources are spent more effectively.

Ginny Albert,…