House defeats proposal to require 65¢ of education dollars in classrooms

The House on Feb. 16 rejected House Bill 193 (Instructional Expense Requirements) 24-49. The bill, sponsored by Representative Gregory Hughes, sought to establish a 65¢-per-dollar floor for classroom expenditures statewide while allowing waivers where transportation or other factors justify higher non-classroom spending.

Hughes said the measure was intended to ‘‘set the tone’’ and ensure more public education dollars go into classroom instruction. ‘‘What this bill proposes is that that become the bar — no less than 65¢ of every dollar will land in the classroom,’’ he told colleagues, adding a waiver process for districts with demonstrated transportation burdens.

Debate centered on concerns about local control, charter schools, staff development and the fairness of penalizing rural districts. Representative Pat King and others argued transportation costs (San Juan School District cited as an example) create structural disadvantages for rural districts; King noted San Juan’s extreme travel and estimated transportation at about $2,000,000 annually, arguing transportation to and from school is essential to enable instruction. Opponents warned the measure could create a ‘‘super school board’’ by shifting fiscal control from local districts to the state.

A substitute amendment was offered and passed that incorporated language proposed by Representative Holdaway and expanded the list of items considered instructional; Representative King successfully moved a substitute motion to add transportation to and from school as an included item in the calculation. After further debate the House rejected the bill in final passage.

Sponsors and opponents agreed on the goal of prioritizing classroom instruction but differed on whether a statutory floor and waiver process best accomplish that aim. The bill’s failure leaves the matter to future legislative discussion or alternative policy approaches.