JFAC approves technical correction setting public‑school health insurance at $21,902 per support unit

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 accepted a technical correction to the program maintenance bill that fixes the per‑support‑unit health insurance distribution for public schools at $21,902.

The change was introduced to correct a rounding discrepancy in earlier draft language so the Department of Education knows the exact dollar amount to distribute. "The motion and the correction before you will say to provide $21,902 in that maintenance bill for public schools," Deputy Division Manager Jared Tatro said during the presentation. Committee leadership then asked for unanimous consent to include the corrected amount; with no objection Chair Horman said, "Hearing none, it is so ordered."

The correction stems from how public‑school health insurance was recorded in the draft: earlier materials showed a per‑support‑unit calculation that multiplied a figure by 14,130 and produced $21,901.50, which must be stated as a whole‑dollar amount in statute and therefore rounds to $21,902. Committee staff and the agency confirmed the dollar figure is required in the bill text so the Department of Education can distribute the appropriation correctly.

The committee treated the item as strictly technical: there was no debate over policy or pace of funding, and no changes to total appropriation levels were proposed during the brief exchange.

Committee paperwork shows the calculation is tied to the support‑unit staffing allowance (the 1.55 staff allowance used in the distribution formula) and the committee accepted the clarified dollar figure to be reflected in the program maintenance language going forward.