Date: 01/14/2015
Final
- Briefing by JBC on department budget requests
COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATION
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09:45 AM -- - Briefing by JBC on department budget requests
Senator Hill, Chair, welcomed the committee members to the Joint Education meeting. He welcomed members of the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) to the table to begin their presentation. Representative Hamner introduced the other JBC members and explained that she would be discussing the budget requests for the Department of Education (CDE) and Department of Higher Education (DHE). Representative Hamner referred the committee members to page 7 of their budget briefing booklets for an overview of CDE, which is responsible for distributing state and federal funds to school districts and administering a variety of education programs and student assessments. She discussed the increases that the General Assembly funded during the 2014 legislative session, and explained the additional funding provided by the Student Success Act and School Finance Act. She told the committee that 21.4 percent of the state operating budget goes to K-12 education. Representative Hamner spoke about the Governor's budget request for this year, and about funding increases by at least the rate of inflation for categorical programs which is required both statutorily and constitutionally. She told the committee about CDE's request for a funding increase to assist school districts with implementing some of the recent reforms passed by the legislature. She outlined the items in the budget request for Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST), and talked about the balance of the State Education Fund and the Governor's request for a $200 million one-time reduction in the negative factor. The committee discussed the State Education Fund, as well as a lawsuit pertaining to the implementation of and funding required by Amendment 23.
09:57 AM
The committee discussed minimum requirements for state aid to school districts and associated equity issues due to local share and total program amounts distributed to districts. Representative Hamner continued to discuss CDE's budget request and answered questions from the committee. She talked about several bills that will be introduced to fix double line items, issues with transparency, and continued spending authority for five years for CDE to improve the process of teacher licensure. The JBC members answered questions from the committee about reducing the negative factor.
10:11 AM
The JBC members continued answering questions from the committee about reducing the negative factor through one-time money and recurring revenue, and about the portion of General Fund growth that funds K-12 education.
10:20 AM
Representative Hamner discussed the DHE budget request, which she stated is 14 percent of the total state operating budget, or approximately 8 percent of the General Fund. She talked about legislation passed last year that impacts funding for higher education, caps on tuition increases, the new funding model being implemented as a result of House Bill 14-1319, and a request for seed money for a new scholarship fund. Representative Hamner talked about the new higher education funding model, which incentivizes college completion and success, and stated that funding will be more performance-driven. The JBC members answered questions from the committee about whether there is a negative factor for higher education funding.