House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

Posted:	January 28, 2020 11:50 AM
From:	Representative Todd Stephens
To:	All House members
Subject:	Fair Basic Education Funding

After a year of testimony from many stakeholders across the state and country, the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission reviewed the distribution of state Basic Education Funding (BEF) and unanimously recommended a new formula for distribution of education dollars. Although this new formula works to distribute money fairly and predictably among the 500 school districts according to the true cost drivers of educating children, many districts are being short-changed due to the “hold harmless” provision. This provision was implemented years ago to ensure all districts received at least as much funding as they did the previous year regardless of a reduction in their population. Today, it means the state is paying to educate children who no longer attend many of our schools forcing other districts to bear more of the financial burden locally. This legislation addresses that unfair situation. Our legislation incorporates the BEF Commission recommended formula and allocates all Basic Education Funding to school districts through the formula based on the most current student enrollment. We’ve attached a list detailing how each school district would be affected under our legislation. Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation.
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Introduced as HB2628