An area of school funding will be studied by the legislature in this year’s interim.

 

Members of the legislature’s Executive Board voted unanimously to study the state’s extraordinary cost fund, which districts can apply for to receive additional funding for special education costs.

 

“This fund is getting hit pretty hard,” Rep. Hugh Bartels said of the extraordinary cost fund during the Executive Board meeting in March.

 

“The numbers are climbing so fast that it needs to be looked at.”

 

Legislators on the Executive Board declined to study the topic of mental health and safety in K-12 schools, which was the topic that received the most votes from legislators to be studied, but will establish an interim committee to study access to mental health services.

 

The study on the extraordinary cost fund marks the second review of school funding set-up post-legislative session, as members of the Teacher Compensation Review Board, which will review teacher compensation, including comparable wage indexes in surrounding states, were appointed last month.

 

Click here to read more about TCRB.

 

Members of the study on the extraordinary cost fund will be appointed and meeting schedule established in the coming weeks.

 

For updates on these studies, as well as other education topics in the state, check the ASBSD Blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed.