Appropriations panel advances Department of Public Instruction budget, restores $1M for teacher mentoring

Bismarck — The Appropriations — Education and Environment Division on Tuesday approved House Bill 1013, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) K‑12 budget, moving the measure out of the subcommittee with amendments that adjust the school funding formula, expand student meal eligibility and add $1 million to the North Dakota RISE teacher‑mentoring program.

Representative Ben Richter, the subcommittee sponsor, walked members through the bill and its funding sources, saying the DPI budget includes general fund dollars and multiple "other funds" such as the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), carryover, the Common Schools Trust Fund and federal dollars. "First thing I want to point out is, as as we look at this budget, as far as the revenue sources and the money that comes into it, we have general fund dollars and then we have other funds," Richter said during the discussion.

Why it matters: The committee's changes alter how state K‑12 dollars flow to districts and add one‑time and ongoing funding for several programs. The committee approved a package of adjustments tied to House Bill 1369 (the integrated funding formula) and related bills that together increase K‑12 funding in this biennium by roughly $100 million to $116 million depending on which items are counted together, according to subcommittee comments.

Key provisions and decisions

- Integrated funding formula: The package removes a prior 12% local match requirement from parts of the integrated funding formula and retains a 2-and-2 starting point (referred to in committee as "2 and 2"). Subcommittee text identifies a $771,489 increase in Foundation Aid tied to formula changes. Members noted House Bill 1369 will be the vehicle on the floor for much of the formula work and that the bill set K‑12 funding increases at about $99,960,000 in the formula bill itself, with other adjustments bringing a larger total when combined.

- Student meals: Committee members reduced a one‑time appropriation originally proposed at $6,000,000 to $4,500,000 for expanded summer or supplemental meal programs. The change accompanies a policy decision to set free school meals up to 200% of the federal poverty level; committee discussion placed the approximate 200% poverty threshold for a family of four in the low $60,000s.

- North Dakota RISE (teacher mentoring): After floor discussion and a substitute amendment, the committee added $1,000,000 to the subcommittee's prior level for the ND RISE mentoring program. Committee members said the governor's recommendation had been $4,500,000; the committee had initially settled at $3,500,000 (about $1 million over the base). The floor substitute restored an additional $1,000,000, aligning committee funding with the governor's recommendation.

- Other DPI items: The bill includes line items for Cognia accreditation costs (state‑funded so districts would not be required to pay), funding for the Center for Distance Education (salary adjustments, tuition‑funded positions, an online student information system upgrade and a virtual military pathway), targeted salary increases for the State Library, and multiple repairs and one‑time projects for Vision Services and the School for the Deaf (dormitory counselor positions, online course funding and facility repairs).

- School construction/loan program discussion (informational): Committee members received a briefing from Adam Tesher, School Finance Officer at DPI, on the school construction loan fund and a Senate bill that would earmark $20,000,000 to prioritize an Air Force base project in Grand Forks. Tesher described available revolving funds and said that, depending on assumptions, roughly $53,000,000 could be available in year one with up to $20,000,000 potentially directed to a Grand Forks Air Force Base project if the Senate bill with an emergency clause clears. He warned the committee that cutting the planned $100,000,000 deposit to $75,000,000 reduced annual availability and that the loan fund is vulnerable to being quickly exhausted by large projects. "There is that bill in the senate which is a $20,000,000 out of the loan. That basically brings that project automatically to the top," Tesher said.

Votes and next steps

- The subcommittee approved the package of amendments to HB 1013 on a voice/roll call vote earlier in the meeting and later approved passage of the bill as amended. A substitute amendment to add $1,000,000 to ND RISE passed on a roll call (6‑1). The subcommittee then approved the final amended bill by roll call, sending HB 1013 forward with the committee's changes.

Context and caveats

- Representatives and staff emphasized that the current package represents a starting point: revenue forecasts after crossover and competing Senate changes will affect final funding in conference. Several items discussed in subcommittee (for example, certain formula adjustments and the transportation grant formula) will appear on the floor as separate bills or sections of bills.

Ending

The subcommittee advanced HB 1013 with the amendments described above; it now moves to the next stage of the legislative process where the Senate, revenue forecasts and conference negotiations could further change funding levels and language.