District legislative update: task force modeling, special‑education funding and a fast 2026 session

Doctor Little, presenting on the district’s draft legislative priorities, told the board the education funding task force has not met since September and staff expect a compressed 2026 legislative calendar. He explained the legislature is now more active in initial budget construction and that special‑education funding that had been on the table was pared down in committee from larger figures to $10 million in some iterations — a sign, he said, of how difficult it is to restore large sums under the new process.

Little said the task force will seek a consultant to run school‑finance modeling because prior runs lacked the sophistication needed to analyze third‑ and fourth‑tier implications (for example, the ripple effects on local option budgets and other formula components). He emphasized the task force must complete deliverables by statutory deadlines — including a bill drafting timeline tied to a January filing deadline for school finance recommendations — and warned the work will require ongoing public and delegation engagement through 2026 and into 2027.

Board members raised the need to stay engaged throughout the modeling process and to invite legislators to schools; Little and other staff urged continued outreach. No formal board vote was taken on legislative positions at this meeting; Little’s update was informational with guidance for the board’s forthcoming action on draft priorities.