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Senate adopts targeted funding for 'highly impacted' schools and advances school-finance amendment
Summary
The Senate amended and advanced education measures, approving a $4 million pilot for highly impacted schools (HB 172, amended from $5.2 million) and adopting an amendment to the school finance bill to add a future 1-mill guarantee increase for voted board leeway.
Senator Stevenson summarized House Bill 172 as a targeted funding package for 'highly impacted' schools, designed to provide additional classroom assistance — paraprofessionals, teacher aides and support staff — where concentrated needs impair student achievement. After floor discussion and a negotiated amendment, the appropriation figure in the amendment was reduced from $5.2 million to $4.0 million; Senator McAllister explained that $4.0 million was the maximum amount the executive and legislative negotiations could accommodate without reprioritizing other funds.
Senators debated the bill’s approach. Senator Taylor warned that the targeted appropriation could create a disincentive for local districts to fund class-size reductions locally and stressed local responsibility. Senator Stevenson and others cited studies associating lower class size with improved outcomes and argued the pilot is a focused way to deliver help to vulnerable students. An amendment requiring the Office of Education, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Budget and the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, to develop a distribution formula by July 31, 1995, was included to clarify how funds would be allocated.
On school finance, the Senate considered an amendment to the minimum school program that would raise the voted-in board leeway guarantee by one mill in the following year (no fiscal impact this year; a projected $2.4 million impact next year). Senator Taylor framed the amendment as a taxpayer-equity measure designed to narrow stark per-student revenue disparities between wealthy and poor districts; Senator Hillier and others raised budgeting-principle concerns about placing a future obligation on next year’s budget. After debate the amendment was adopted and the bill advanced.
Votes and next steps: HB 172 was amended and advanced under suspension for later consideration; SB 215 (school finance) proceeded with the adopted amendment and will move through the second/third reading process. Sponsors emphasized that the session overall increased education funding by an estimated 6.7% when accounting for other enacted measures and supplemental appropriations.
