Panel adjusts K–12 budget lines, restores teacher mentoring, funds reading pilots and retention aids

Members of the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on Wednesday finished detailed line‑by‑line review of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) portions of the K–12 budget and agreed to several funding changes and clarifications.

The committee restored the governor’s proposed $2,000,000 for pass‑through grants for a teacher mentoring program, increased one‑time funding for teacher retention foundation‑aid stabilization from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000, and moved several reading and innovation programs into the proposed budget in either ongoing or one‑time categories.

Nut graf: The committee’s adjustments keep several of DPI’s priority programs in the mix while trimming or deferring items that overlap with pending policy bills, including education savings accounts (ESA) legislation. The changes aim to preserve continuity for mentoring and early‑reading efforts while…