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Board hears 2025 legislative update: state boosts maintenance dollars, teacher pay rules change
Summary
At the Whitehall School District meeting, staffer Hannah summarized the 2025 legislative session, including the STARS Act (HB 252) to raise educator funding, an increase in school major‑maintenance allocations (from $15,000 to $40,000 per school level) and a shift in guaranteed base aid that adds roughly $12 million statewide.
Hannah, introduced by the board chair, opened the legislative update with a summary of the 2025 session and its implications for the district. “The legislative session which ended … Wednesday, April 30th after 85 days,” she said, and listed bills she said would affect district funding and programming, including House Bill 252 (the STARS Act), House Bill 515 (major maintenance funding), and House Bill 483 (an equalization change to property tax mills).
She said the state increased the school major‑maintenance allocation from $15,000 to $40,000 per school level and raised the student‑multiplier from 110 to 115; she also noted the guaranteed base aid percentage rose from 187% to 315%, a change the presenter estimated adds approximately $12 million statewide. Hannah cautioned that some changes (for example, an early‑numeracy expansion in House Bill 628) phase in later (fiscal year 2027), and that the district has aligned its pay schedules and compensation practices to take advantage of the new state funding. The board did not take further action on the recap; the update was presented for information and planning.
