Rep. Moffitt urges incentive grants to reward improvement in math achievement; committee hears proposal

Representative Mike Moffitt presented House Bill 750, an incentive-grant concept developed through prior interim study work to reward schools or districts that demonstrate measurable improvement in mathematics assessment scores. The proposal envisions a formula or set of performance metrics (left to DOE and stakeholders to refine) and modest awards (reported in discussion as $50,000 per award in earlier drafts) given to schools that improve relative to their own baseline.

Rationale: Moffitt and supporters argued that incentive grants celebrate achievement and provide funds that local districts can use flexibly to sustain and share what worked. He contrasted the proposal with past programs that gave money to low-performing schools without tying funds to demonstrated improvement or accountability, and noted the interim-study process had produced an OTP recommendation previously.

Questions and concerns: Committee members asked how awards would fairly recognize high-performing schools with less room to improve versus low-performing schools with more capacity to show gains, how a final formula would be set, and whether $50,000 would be sufficient incentive. Moffitt acknowledged these complexities and urged a mission-oriented approach where stakeholders and DOE refine metrics and implementation details.

Next steps: The committee heard the proposal; Moffitt noted the interim-study OTP and urged the committee not to let the perfect become the enemy of the good by delaying an incentive mechanism while work continues on precise formulas.

Ending: The committee closed the hearing; committee staff and DOE were asked to consider implementation metrics and potential funding sources.