House school finance bills filed

There are 81 days remaining in the 88th Legislative Session. Tomorrow, Friday, March 10, is the unrestricted bill filing deadline.

House School Finance bills filed

Even more of Speaker Dade Phelan's priority bills have been filed, and yesterday that included two school finance bills: HB 11 by Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) and HB 100 by Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian). The two bills have quite a few similarities. And as you might imagine, with one being filed by an urban Democrat and the other a rural Republican, they also have some differences.

First, here are the big things both bills have in common:

$50 increase to the Basic Allotment, and the requirement that 50% of that $50 multiplied by the district's ADA be used to increase compensation for teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians (not to increase compensation by hiring more staff).
Significant increase and changes to the Minimum Salary Schedule for teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians (and the requirement that at least 50% of what the district saves from reduced TRS contributions that come from the MSS increase be used to increase compensation, but not to increase compensation by hiring more staff)
Modifies the small and mid-sized allotment to be based on average enrollment rather than ADA.

Provisions found only in HB 11 (Dutton):

Changes to the Teacher Incentive Allotment that add a new "effective" teacher designation and that modifications to increase the amounts to which districts are entitled for the designations.
Assistance to help districts with the financial penalties associated with rehiring retired teachers.
Teacher quality assistance from TEA, including a teacher time study.
An enhanced Texas Teacher Residency Partnership Program with an allotment to provide up to 50% of the funding.
Eligibility for Pre-K for the children of public school teachers.
$2,000 Mentor Teacher Allotment (for up to 40 mentor teachers per district).

Provisions found only in HB 100 (King):

The shift to enrollment-based funding can be found in almost every aspect of the school finance formulas--except the biggest one (the Basic Allotment). Enrollment-based funding is included in everything ranging from facilities funding (but commissioner rule) to size-based allotments, and every individual student funding weight.
Transportation Allotment is increased to $1.54 per mile/eligible student (as opposed to $1.00).
New allotment of $10 per enrollment student for advanced mathematics pathways.
Extension of the Formula Transition Grant until 2029-2030.

Many of the items in these bills may seem familiar as they are issues we've commonly heard discussed by Education Commissioner Mike Morath and/or they were included in the Texas Teacher Vacancy Task Force recommendations. Keep in mind that these filed versions of the school finance bills are likely to change as they make their way through the process.

You can view our side-by-side comparison of the two bills via the button below if you would like to walk through all the details these bulleted lists didn't cover.

Comparison of HB 11 and HB 100

Supplemental Appropriations - the shell game continues...

Senate Bill 30, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, was heard and adopted by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. This bill is one that is necessary every session to true up the differences between estimated and actual values, as well as to provide spending opportunities in the current fiscal year for other priority or emergency items.

The pattern that we've seen emerge in the past few budget cycles is one that includes the adoption of a reduction in Foundation School Program spending from the state's General Revenue (GR) due to higher than expected property values that shift a larger share of funding to local property tax payers. This is especially true when it comes to recapture. You've heard us refer to this as a "shell game."

SB 30 includes a reduction to the Foundation School Program of $8.2 billion, based on higher than expected recapture, higher than expected property values, and lower than expected ADA/enrollment. This reduction won't cause any funding cuts in schools, but it also doesn't live up to the state funding levels contemplated two years ago, as a larger burden for funding was shifted to local taxpayers.

Christy Rome testified on behalf of the Coalition to ensure that this FSP reduction did not go unnoticed. She also pointed out very real needs schools are facing in the current school year that could be aided without increased state spending, but simply less of a reduction, such as: an increase to the Basic Allotment in the current school year to help keep pace with inflation, help for Formula Transition Grant districts facing a 36% reduction in FTG amounts this year, and increased spending for school safety.

SB 30 does include $600 million in additional spending for school safety as proposed. It also includes an additional $1 billion for the Teacher Retirement System. You can see the Legislative Budget Board summary of SB 30 here.

School Safety bills filed

Three bills have been filed that would make changes to the School Safety Allotment, which have all been identified as either a Lt. Governor or Speaker's priority bill (respectively):

Senate Bill 11 by Senator Nichols (R-Jacksonville) increases the School Safety Allotment from the current amount of $9.72 per ADA to $10 per ADA and an additional $15,000 per campus. The $10 amount would increase by $1 every time the Basic Allotment is increased by $50 from its current amount. Further, TEA is to designate certain technologies a district may purchase with School Safety Allotment dollars, and funds may only be used with vendors on the approved list. The bill also calls for additional support from regional education service centers, safety plans that require TEA approval, school safety audits with results reported to TEA; it also includes school district sanctions for failure to comply with safety and security requirements.

House Bill 3 by Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) also increases the School Safety Allotment to $10 per ADA and an additional $15,000 per campus. The per-ADA amount would increase by $1 every time the Basic Allotment is increased by $50 from its current amount. TEA and the Texas School Safety Center are to designate certain technologies a district may purchase with School Safety Allotment dollars, and funds may only be used with vendors on the approved list. Additionally, the bill would require that at least one armed security officer be present on each school campus in the state. It also makes changes to the multihazard emergency operations plans and safety and security audits required for schools, which include at least one Intruder Detection Audit per year, with at least 25% of the district’s campuses subject to that physical audit. Finally, the bill also includes school district sanctions for failure to comply with safety and security requirements.

House Bill 13 by Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) increases the School Safety Allotment to $100 per ADA, and removes the list of items on which funds may spent to just include the spending requirement that funds be spent "to improve school safety and security." TEA and the Texas School Safety Center must establish a list of approved vendors, and if the districts uses funds on a vendor not on the approved list, they must solicit bids. The bill requires that school district employees who interact with students must complete mental health first aid training and includes an allotment to cover cost of travel and training fees. It also creates a school guardian program for school employees authorized to carry or possess a weapon on school premises; from funds appropriated, school guardians would be entitled to an annual stipend (determined by the commissioner) of not more than $25,000. The bill requires that each district annually adopt and implement an active shooter preparedness plan. From funds appropriated, TEA is to establish a grant program to assist districts with the costs of meeting safety standards. Districts subject to recapture may reduce their Tier 1 recapture amount by the amount necessary to employ an off-duty peace officer as security personnel.

Ways & Means Committee to hear property tax relief bill on Monday

The House Ways & Means Committee will hear House Bill 2, and its accompanying constitutional amendment, HJR 1, on Monday, March 13. Notice of hearing

HB 2, by Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas), would reduce school district M&O tax rates by 15 cents in the 2023-24 school year, on top of current law compression. The bill would also lower the cap on appraisal increases from 10% to 5%, meaning that value growth would be capped at a lower number. Additionally, the appraisal caps apply to all real property--not just residence homesteads as under current law.