If you were to become a digital being and slip into my email inbox, you would discover a lot of messages clearly resulting from action alerts about K-12 education.
HB 69 is the education bill passed by the House. Some write and are asking the Senate to fund the big BSA increase and some say, not so fast – they don’t want to be taxed; they don’t want their PFD cut down even more; and they don’t want us to deplete our limited savings.
“The bill is currently biased.”
Many are weighing in to state the policies in the bill penalize non-traditional public school students, and I have to agree with them. The bill is biased. A number of legislators think money is the sole answer to our failing schools, and at least subliminally, don’t consider public charter and public correspondence students to be public school students even though they are.
HB 69 passed by the Democrat-controlled House Majority reduces funding for public charter schools, counts public correspondence students as less than one student, and mandates reports and accountability for non-traditional public schools that are not required of traditional public schools. The House Majority also resisted and failed good amendments to limit class sizes and direct funds to teachers and classroom.
Shortchanging non-traditional schooling is unfortunate because research shows that expanded school choice opportunities lift all boats. The more school choice in a state, the better student outcomes – in all types of schools, including the neighborhood “brick and mortar” schools. Why would we not want that?
“The more school choice in a state, the better student outcomes – in all types of schools, including the neighborhood “brick and mortar” schools. Why would we not want that?”
It’s clear, the Senate has work to do to make the bill workable. It’s a no-go in its present form, even if only considering the bill from a funding standpoint. With a current deficit of more than one-half billion dollars for this year and next, there simply are not the funds to cover the huge $1000 increase to the base student allocation (BSA) nor are there the votes to cover the BSA increase via accessing new revenues. Presently, there are not the votes to pass tax bills to fund a $1000 BSA increase, to decrease the PFD down to $600 to fund it, or to draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) via a three-quarter vote to fund it. It’s time for a reality check.
Presently, there are not the votes to pass tax bills to fund a $1000 BSA increase, to decrease the PFD down to $600 to fund it, or to draw from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) via a three-quarter vote to fund it. It’s time for a reality check.
For an education package to pass, the funding must be reasonable not just this year but for future years. A pie-in-the-sky increase that can’t be sustained in future years is not going to fly. The funding must also be paired with sensible reforms aimed to improve student outcomes.
