Committee backs bill to redirect enrollment-related funding to very small and remote school districts

The Senate Education Committee agreed to committee language on an originating bill that would redirect any reduction in state education aid from the prior fiscal year into a new appropriation targeted to the 10 lowest-enrollment county school districts that are at the maximum excess levy and to extremely remote schools in levy-maxed districts.

Committee counsel told members that the distribution would be made proportionally based on the number of grade K–5 students so that “the per student allocation to the county school districts is equal,” and that a student enrolled both in a qualifying low-enrollment district and an extremely remote school would be counted twice for distribution purposes.

Why it matters: committee members said the measure aims to blunt the annual budgetary reductions that occur when statewide student enrollment falls. The senior senator from the fourth, drawing on finance committee experience, said declining enrollments typically return roughly $25 million to $30 million to the general revenue fund each year; this bill would instead direct those amounts to high-risk, remote schools with smaller class sizes and higher per-student travel costs.

Debate and clarifications: senators asked whether counties that cannot pass an excess levy would qualify; counsel and members clarified that eligibility requires both being among the 10 lowest-enrollment counties and having a maximum excess levy, so counties that have attempted but failed to pass a levy would not qualify under the bill as written. The chair also noted department data indicating about 12 or 13 counties currently do not have an excess levy and that an example county cited in discussion (Preston County) would not meet the 10-lowest-enrollment threshold using last year’s figures.

Committee action: after discussion, the committee voted by voice to agree to the committee language and then voted to report the originating bill to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do pass, with an instruction that it first be referred to the committee on finance.

Next steps: the bill will be considered by the full Senate and, per the committee motion, proceed to the finance committee under the chamber’s referral rules.