Districts warn class-size and school-fee proposals could reshuffle funding and affect K–8 staffing

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.