The Budget Before the Budget is Here
Yesterday, details began to leak from the Legislature about a budget proposal put together by House and Senate Leadership & the governor. The K-12 educaton lobbyists perked up when the House Rules committee granted permission for late introduction of “two measures relating to K-12 finance revisions” and “one measure relating to empowerment scholarship accounts.”
Bills have not been introduced, but there are broad strokes out there, and the gossip from the capitol corridors indicates that this version isn’t the version that’s got the votes.
So how does K-12 look? Well, we don’t have a complete analysis, but the top line for K-12 is billed at $474M spread across various initiatives. The largest single line item related to K-12 appears doesn’t appear to be an expenditure at all, but rather a tax cut. The proposal eliminates the Statewide Equalization Tax Rate (SETR). That reduces property tax collections by about $330M statewide, which the state has to make up. The net result to districts is a $0 increase.
Also rumored to be in the mix is the elimination of the teacher experience index and teacher compensation fund monies for districts, in exchange for a 2.5% base increase above inflation (4.5% total), as well as additional funding for special education group B weights ($100M), an increase in district and charter additional assistance, some additional one-time money for building renewal and, of course, ESAs.
Reception among Democrats and even some Republicans was not positive, with remarks along the lines of “don’t make any June plans” reported by the esteemed scribes of The Yellow Sheet.
The ASBA GR Team is not giving this one great odds as-is, and the convential wisdom is that this exercise will serve to show recalcitrant members of the majority that a budget that doesn’t invest much more significantly in K-12 does not have a path forward. Nevertheless, we have to start somewhere, and the first plan usually serves as the basis for negotiations. Stay tuned to find out!
“CRT” Redux
Last week, the House passed its revised version of SB1412 race; ethnicity; sex; classroom instruction (Mesnard). This revised version pulls in universities and community colleges as well, along with a beefed up complaint process. It still needs final approval in the Senate, which it has yet to receive.
Other Action to Catch up on
HB2008 schools; academic standards; civics instruction (Nguyen)—FAILED Senate 3rd read. It will likely be back on reconsideration, as it appeared there were several Senators absent who would otherwise have voted for it.
HB2124 school districts; tuition; expenditures (Udall)—Ready for the governor
SB1630 school buses; student transportation; vehicles (Kerr)—Ready for the governor
Both House and Senate are adjourned until Wednesday, June 8, at 10 a.m.