House votes to increase P-12 education funding

 | Post by Susan Perkins Weston |

House Bill 200, Kentucky’s budget legislation for the next two fiscal years, is on the move. The House of Representatives just approved its version of the bill. Here’s a look at the major choices the House has made, along with a note that the Senate usually makes other changes and the two chambers negotiate to decide on a final spending plan.

Compared to the budget for fiscal 2018 (basically, the school year we’re in right now), the 2019 budget the House just voted on includes $45 million more in general fund support for the Department of Education. That includes funding increases of:

• $44 million for the SEEK formula, with an increase to the base guarantee per pupil and a decision not to make a major SEEK transportation cut that Governor Bevin had recommended.
• $21 million for school facilities
• $14 million for health insurance for teachers and other school and district employees
• $11 million for the employer share of contributions for current teachers’ retirement
• $3 million for the safe schools program

It also includes some of the major cuts the Governor proposed back in January, including:

• $17 million from textbooks and other instructional resources
• $12 million from funding for educators’ professional development
• $3 million from family resource and youth service centers
• $2 million from overall Department of Education funding
• $14 million from a set of smaller programs that each had 2018 funding of less than $5 million

The House version of the budget maintains current funding for some other programs, including:

• Kentucky School for the Blind
• Kentucky School for the Deaf
• State operated vocational centers
• Extended school services
• Gifted and talented services
• Mathematics Achievement Fund
• Preschool
• Read to Achieve grants
• State agency children

Our new PrichBlog summary shows added detail, including changes for the 2020 budget and a detail page on small programs that receive less than $5 million in funding. You can download that here, or view the complete budget bill as approved by the House here.