This session’s major school finance bill, HB 1525, went to the House floor yesterday where it was debated, amended and put on a schedule for final adoption later today. Out of the 20 proposed amendments heard yesterday, 15 were adopted. You can see the full list of amendments here, but we’ve outlined some of the more significant ones that were adopted below:
- Fast Growth Allotment: An amendment from Rep. Bailes changes the allotment to be calculated over the 6 preceding years; raises the floor for generating an allotment to include only those districts that saw enrollment growth of more than 250 over the preceding 6 years; excludes Texas Virtual School Network-related ADA; and changes the weights used to calculate the allotment.
- CTE Allotment: An amendment from Rep. VanDeaver tweaks the weights so that CTE FTEs from courses not in an approved program of study receive a weight of 1.1 (previously was 1.0) and FTEs from Level 3 and Level 4 courses receive a weight of 1.47 (previously 1.48).
The weight for Level 1 and Level 2 courses remains 1.28, and the amendment preserves the small and mid-sized adjustment that was added back to the CTE allotment in the committee substitute to HB 1525. - Swap & Drops: An amendment from Rep. Huberty clarifies the consequences a district could see if it was found to have levied a higher M&O tax rate for the purpose of servicing its debt. With the amendment, the commissioner would be authorized to reduce the district’s entitlement by the amount it benefitted from the higher M&O rate.
- Tax Compression for Frozen Properties: An amendment by Rep. Howard would provide a proportional school tax reduction to property owners who are eligible for the over-65/disabled tax ceiling. The reduction would be in line with the amount of tax compression the district saw under HB 3. For this to be ultimately implemented, it would also have to be approved by voters in a statewide election to amend the Texas Constitution.
- Required Salary Increases: An amendment by Rep. Turner (and subsequent amendment to the amendment) would lock-in the salary increases required under HB 3, as long as the employee remains employed by the same district.
Rep. Huberty ultimately chose not to amend HB 1525 to include his proposed cap on school district fund balances. That bill, HB 3445, is currently stuck in committee.
Rep. Krause also proposed an amendment that would change the range regarding how far a district’s local property values can deviate from state values calculated by the Comptroller before the district may see state values assigned. This amendment would significantly increase the cost of the bill and was pulled down.
After today’s vote, the bill will head over to the Senate Education committee.