Conference committee agrees in principle to 3% cap on 60 mills for school levies; staff to draft gap-funding language

A conference committee on House Bill 1176 on Oct. 12 provisionally agreed to apply a 3% cap to the state’s 60 mills of school levies and to seek gap funding from the state to offset revenue losses for school districts.

The committee’s decision was provisional: Chairman Hedlund asked Adam Tescher, school finance officer at the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), and legislative staffer Megan Gordon to draft specific amendment language and produce an updated cost estimate for the committee’s 4:00 p.m. meeting. Tescher has already circulated a spreadsheet with district ending balances, levies and recent valuation growth.

Why it matters: The change would directly affect school district revenues and property tax statements for residential and commercial taxpayers. Committee members said the cap aims to deliver property tax relief while creating a state-funded “gap” to hold districts financially whole during the two-year trial period.

Committee debate and context

Senator Beckettall cautioned that fully exempting the 60 mills from caps could defeat the bill’s purpose and said he did not know how much taxpayer bills would…