House committee concurs with Senate amendment to open-enrollment budget reporting

A House education committee voted to concur with a Senate amendment to H.P. 771, the open-enrollment bill, sending the amended language to the House floor as the committee's recommendation.

The amendment, added in the Senate, requires each school district to include in its annual operating budget a line item listing estimated expenditures for open-enrollment tuition and to show offsetting revenue estimates from sending school districts. The committee chair presented the amended language and recommended concurrence, saying the change "benefits the bill." Representative McGuire agreed, saying "the two changes they made just make it more...clearer," noting the amendment explicitly identifies responsibilities of sending and receiving districts.

Not all members were ready to adopt a position without further caucus discussion. Representative Lehi requested more time to caucus, expressing structural concerns: "the tuition will be based on 80% of the sending district's average cost per pupil ... the receiving district could have a very, very different cost structure" and that reliance on local property tax differences could create inequitable outcomes. The chair proceeded to take a show of hands; after the count he said he would "concur" because that was where the majority stood and the committee's recommendation will be taken to the House floor.

The action is a committee-level concurrence with the Senate amendment; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript beyond the chair's description that a show of hands produced a majority in favor. The committee noted members may continue to raise the matter on the House floor.

The committee moved on to other business after announcing the concurrence and scheduling follow-up agenda items.