Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House approves substitute HB56 to create limited Centennial Partnership pilot schools
Summary
The House passed a substitute to HB56 enabling a pilot Centennial Partnership School program that allows select Centennial schools to receive identified education monies directly and exercise expanded site‑based management. Sponsors said the substitute uses existing Centennial funds and enables local school decisionmaking; questions focused on fiscal mechanics.
A substitute to House Bill 56 would create a pilot program that allows certain Centennial schools to apply for Centennial Partnership School status and receive identified education monies directly under local executive committees of parents and staff.
The sponsor described a site‑based management model: a local executive committee (equal numbers of parents and school employees) would set priorities and could request waivers to meet school goals. The sponsor said the substitute does not require additional funding beyond the existing Centennial Schools program and that any implementation costs could be handled within the current budget.
On the floor, Representative Allen and others pressed for clarity on the fiscal note and whether money would be taken from the existing Centennial Schools budget or drawn from other state education funds. The sponsor pointed to language in the substitute that authorizes local boards, with school directors, to identify education monies "which shall flow directly to the school," and to a management responsibility for school directors to ensure funds meet performance goals.
Members debated whether the state board or the local board should lead selection and how the fiscal note reconciled with the changes. The sponsor said the substitute was intended as a vehicle for schools that have completed Centennial School steps to assume greater site-based control; the House passed the substitute 53 yes, 17 no and referred it to the Senate.
