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House passes amendment to protect districts in capital outlay equalization program
Summary
House approved HB 183, an amendment to education capital outlay equalization intended to protect currently aided school districts from losing eligibility due to rapid property-value escalation; the bill passed 71–1 and moves to the Senate.
Representative Tyler presented House Bill 183 (as amended), using spreadsheets and graphs to illustrate how annual property-value escalation could reduce the number of districts that qualify for capital outlay equalization. He said the bill does not permit districts not currently helped to draw on the fund but protects those currently receiving aid from falling below qualifying thresholds through no fault of their own.
Tyler explained qualifying criteria — a district's tax rate must be in excess of 0.0024 and its yield per average daily membership must be below the qualifying average — and presented scenarios showing how many districts would remain eligible with and without HB 183 under various property-value escalation assumptions. He said the bill would preserve aid for currently assisted districts and avoid forcing them into truth-in-taxation elections to regain eligibility.
After limited floor discussion and a summation by the sponsor, the House voted 71–1 to pass HB 183; it will be referred to the Senate for further action.
