News Releases for January 2009
January 26, 2009
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Dalrymple, Legislators, Education Officials Testify On State School Funding Adequacy In Support Of HB1400
BISMARCK, ND - Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, legislators and education officials today testified in support of HB1400 before the House Education Committee on state school funding adequacy. The bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. Rae Ann Kelsch, House Education Committee Chair; Rep. Phil Mueller; and Rep. John Wall. Senate sponsors are Sen. Tim Flakoll; Sen. Ray Holmberg; and Sen. Ryan Taylor. Funding for the plan is included in HB1013, the Department of Public Instruction’s appropriation bill.
HB1400 is the state public school district funding plan and incorporates the recommendations of the Governor’s Commission on Education Improvement, which Dalrymple chairs. Two years ago, the Commission advanced recommendations for funding equity, which were passed in the last legislative session. Since then, the Governor's Commission has devoted its time and talents to addressing the issue of education adequacy.
“We on the Commission believe that if HB 1400 is enacted into law, it will ensure that every student in North Dakota elementary and secondary schools will receive the necessary resources and tools to guarantee they receive an adequate education,” Dalrymple said.
Gov. John Hoeven in his executive budget proposed a total increase in K-12 education funding of $130 million in North Dakota schools, which would bring the state’s share of the cost of education from 49 percent to the long-sought goal of 70 percent. This includes an increase in General Fund monies for State Aid Formula payments, as well as funding to continue the all-day kindergarten program initiated in the last session, and to establish a new, pre-K education program. Hoeven’s budget required that no less than 70 percent of new money received by a district be applied to teacher compensation.
Commission members, who include Rep. Kelsch and Sen. Flakoll, worked with daycare providers and educators to develop plans to implement pre-K in the next biennium.
“The Commission has laid out an aggressive agenda for enhancing the adequacy of K-12 education in our state,” Kelsch said. “With recommendations such as early childhood education, career counseling and merit scholarships, HB 1400 includes important provisions that will effectively prepare North Dakota’s students for college or work.”
Dalrymple said the bill addresses the question of adequacy in school funding in three distinct steps:
- It ensures that combined state and local funding meets the target level recommended by the nation’s leading authorities on the subject.
- It presents a blueprint for the optimum use of those funds to achieve the expected level of student performance.
- It establishes a means to determine whether the desired student performance is being achieved.
The Governor’s Commission on Education Improvement is chaired by Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and comprised of administrators, legislators and education professionals from across the state working to address equity and adequacy in K-12 education funding.
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