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Senate debate S.220 allowable‑growth cap for school spending; counsel flags possible constitutional challenges
Summary
Senate counsel and JFO walked through S.220, a two‑year per‑pupil spending cap using a 9% gap factor with a 3% floor; proponents say it limits growth to relieve taxpayers, while members and counsel raised Brigham‑style equal‑opportunity and education‑clause legal concerns and asked JFO and the Agency of Education for hard numbers.
Senate Finance members discussed S.220, a bill that would cap allowable per‑pupil education spending growth for fiscal years 2028 and 2029.
Introducing the measure, committee counsel explained the bill "is a straight cap" and that "the district literally cannot spend more than the proposed allowable growth percentage," distinguishing S.220 from prior excess‑spending threshold approaches. Counsel said the bill sets the allowable growth percentage as 9% of the gap between a district's prior‑year per‑pupil spending and the highest spending district (excluding gores), expressed as a percentage of the district's own prior‑year spending, and that the statute establishes a 3% minimum allowable growth percentage.
Committee counsel also noted legal risks to consider.…
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