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Joint Appropriations Committee approves $48.8 million ECA increase for K–12, signals push for recalibration
Summary
JAC approved a $48.8 million external cost adjustment (ECA) for K–12 education—an amount between consultant recommendations and the higher Joint Education Committee proposal—and urged a summer recalibration process to resolve long-term compliance with the evidence‑based funding model.
The Joint Appropriations Committee voted to add $48,800,000 to the school foundation program as the external cost adjustment (ECA) for K–12 education, specifying a mix of percentage increases across professional labor, nonprofessional labor, materials and a targeted classroom-teacher increase.
Why it matters: The ECA affects school district budgets statewide. Committee members said the increase aims to close part of the gap between current funding and the evidence-based model used in court decisions, while also balancing long-term sustainability concerns.
Chairman Bair described the options JAC considered and said the committee selected a middle path: the consultants’ lower option would have increased spending by about $37 million, the highest option would have closed the gap at about $66.3 million, and JAC selected $48.8 million. He summarized the distribution: a 4.61% increase for professional labor (administrators and teachers), 5.41% for nonprofessional labor (secretarial and custodial staff), 1.067% for educational materials and a 6.78% targeted increase for classroom teaching staff separate from administrators. Bair said the 6.78% classroom increase is intended as JAC’s preference that funds be directed toward classroom teachers, though representatives acknowledged districts retain budget authority.
Representative Larson asked whether the 6.78% labeled for teachers could be spent elsewhere at the district level; Bair and other members noted that court precedent requires a model and that the budget language expresses legislative intent but cannot fully constrain local board budget authority without statutory change. Chairman Brown and others asked whether the increase is sustainable; Bair said the ECA is ongoing and will double in the next biennium and acknowledged long-term forecasting concerns about the school foundation program if revenues do not keep pace.
Members discussed recalibration — the five‑year model update that sets underlying cost assumptions — and agreed to pursue a recalibration committee over the summer to produce recommendations for the next budget cycle. Bair said the management council had approved a bill to appoint a committee (six members from each chamber) to do recalibration work and emphasized the heavy lift required.
What’s next: The ECA increase will appear in the biennial budget and will be included in the next biennium’s calculations; committee leaders said they will pursue a recalibration effort this summer to attempt a longer-term resolution to model compliance issues raised in prior litigation.
Ending: The committee closed Section 205 on school finance and continued through other budget items.
