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CPPP on School Finance

  

Author:
Scott McCown /(512) 320-0222 x 109

May 23, 2011

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As the session draws to a close, the Legislature must make adjustments in the state’s school finance plan because the Legislature is underfunding current law by close to $4 billion. In essence, the Legislature must determine how to distribute $4 billion in cuts to school districts.

At this point, the vehicle for making changes is Senate Bill (SB) 1581, which Representative Aycock is carrying in the House. Earlier the Senate amended SB 1581 to include SB 22 by Senator Shapiro, commonly called the Hybrid Plan. Now the House must decide whether to keep Shapiro’s Hybrid Plan or amend SB 1581 by replacing the Hybrid Plan with either the Hochberg plan (which eliminates Target Revenue but keeps all program weights the same as current law) or the Eissler pro-ration amendment (an across-the-board cut to Target Revenue).

CPPP urges House members to adopt the Hochberg plan as the principled way to distribute $4 billion in cuts and as the best way to ensure adequate support for public education in years ahead.