House Education reviews Agency of Education Budget Adjustment Act changes including PCB remediation funding and carryovers

House Education on Jan. 22 heard Agency of Education officials detail proposed changes to the state’s Budget Adjustment Act, including requests for additional funding for a licensing peer-review program and adult education, a proposed $11 million reduction to an education payment appropriation, and a package of fiscal-year 2024 carryovers and reversions.

The discussion centered on three BAA requests — a $75,000 increase for the licensing peer review program, a $506,000 increase for the adult education and literacy program (split roughly 60% general fund, 40% education fund), and a net $11 million reduction to the adjusted education payment appropriation — plus several carryover and reversion items across the agency’s general fund and education fund accounts.

For the record, Sean Kuzma, interim chief financial officer for the Agency of Education, said the peer-review request responds to a higher-than-expected number of participants. “We’re looking for an additional $75,000 to cover the increased number of folks going through the peer review program,” Kuzma said, adding that the agency had originally budgeted for about 88 participants and now expects roughly 150.

Kuzma described the adult education and literacy request as tied to a small increase…