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Committee approves technical fix to equity pupil unit funding formula
Summary
Senators approved a bill to tighten rules for the equity pupil unit that aims to redirect matching state funds toward districts making consistent local effort; committee members said the change reduces hold-harmless provisions and prevents gaming of levy rates.
The Education Interim Committee voted unanimously to advance Senate Bill 321, a technical bill that adjusts how the state's equity pupil unit matches state funds to local effort.
Senator Fillmore, who presented the bill, said the equity pupil unit provides matching funds for districts with low assessed value per student and that the bill reduces the length of the "hold harmless" protection so the calculation better reflects recent local effort on property-tax levies. He said the change is designed to limit situations where districts can change levy structure to qualify for more equalization dollars without increasing the underlying local effort.
Committee members questioned potential effects on districts with large amounts of untaxable federal land or other structural disadvantages; Fillmore said the bill combines two levies for matching purposes and excludes facility bonds from the calculation, which he said should help districts that face practical limits on raising revenue. A motion to send SB 321 to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation passed on a unanimous voice vote.
No members of the public testified during the committee action on this bill.
