Washington County School District leaders told legislators on Oct. 11 they are tracking two related policy proposals that could change how classroom and activity funding is allocated: consolidation of the class-size reduction line item into the broad WPU and a draft school-fees bill that would eliminate curricular fees.

One participant described a proposal to remove the separate class-size reduction line and distribute those dollars within the WPU. The district warned that such a change "takes money right now that's used for classroom teachers in K to 8 and it now spreads that across the WPU," potentially reducing funds dedicated to K–8 class-size buy-downs and affecting staffing levels. Officials also noted the redistribution could advantage some charter configurations and disadvantage K–8 charter schools that previously received dedicated K–8 funding.

Separately, legislators described a draft school-fees proposal that would say "if it counts for a grade, it's free; there are no fees" and would treat activities that do not count toward grades as extracurricular and fee-eligible. The draft would preserve charges for instrument rentals and upgrades but remove a distinct "co-curricular" category, forcing schools to decide what counts toward grades and what does not.

Officials asked legislators for communication and realistic targets for WPU requests; legislators responded that clearer, earlier communication helps set expectations and that changes in committee leadership could affect budget deliberations. No formal decisions were taken at the meeting; participants agreed to continue discussions ahead of the session.