Committee hears proposal to tie K‑12 transportation to per‑pupil payment while keeping separate funding bucket

House Bill 1214 would change how North Dakota funds K‑12 student transportation by linking transportation payments to the state per‑pupil payment while keeping transportation as a separate “bucket” of dollars rather than folding it directly into foundation aid.

Supporters told the House Education Committee that the bill is intended to end the practice of treating transportation as a budget “leftover” and to create a predictable entitlement that moves when the per‑pupil payment moves. Representative David Richter, prime sponsor, told the committee, "House Bill 1214 comes out of the interim funding task force," and that the bill’s aim is to integrate transportation funding with the formula without eliminating a discrete transportation allocation.

Proponents stressed the bill is an initial, conservative step that uses existing data and limits new reporting requirements. Burleigh County Superintendent Brandt [last name not specified], president of North Dakota Small Organized Schools, said the bill would eliminate the most problematic reporting element — annual ridership counts — and instead convert transportation expenditures into “generated students” that are multiplied by the…