Committee weighs variable mill-rate options that tie local contribution to poverty
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Summary
Department staff showed three distribution models — 90/10, 75/25 and 50/50 property/poverty mixes — and explained how variable mill-rate expectations would raise or lower local mill targets, producing redistributions that could produce winners and losers even after the regional-index correction.
The Department of Education demonstrated to the committee how introducing a poverty measure into the "ability to contribute" calculation would produce variable mill-rate expectations that shift the local/state distribution of EPS funds.
Paula Gravel explained the three options the committee asked to see: a 90% property/10% poverty model, a 75%/25% model and a 50%/50% model. For each model the department computed a statewide mill-rate target ("no-rate expectation") and then showed maximum below/above deviations under the variable mill-rate design. "For the 90/10 model, that's 5.755," Gravel said, contrasting it with the currently published FY27 mill rate of 5.645. She said some SAUs with higher property values and lower poverty could be asked to contribute more locally, while higher-poverty, lower-property SAUs could have lower mill expectations.
Examples and redistribution: Using district examples, the department showed Portland would receive materially greater state share in the 90/10 and stronger increases under the 75/25 and 50/50 options because poverty would lower Portland's mill expectation and raise its state share. Machias, which the department said formerly had an index of 0.84, would benefit from the regional index floor and also see additional state share under the variable mill-rate scenarios.
Committee concerns: Members asked whether redistribution within a constant appropriation could cause some districts to lose money even after the index correction; staff confirmed that winners and losers are possible under the variable mill-rate designs, and that scenario 2 results are cumulative on the initial regional-index simulation.
Ending: Staff said the spreadsheets show per-SAU outcomes and can be used to identify specific districts for follow-up. Committee members asked the department to prepare line-by-line comparisons for target districts before any vote or bill advance.
