I_SFinance_2021A 11/05/2021 09:34:39 AM Committee Summary

Kristen Blagg and Emily Gutierrez, representing the Urban Institute, provided an update on the Poverty Study. Ms. Blagg shared the project timeline, an explanation of the important terms included in the study, and an overview of the survey results. She shared that the team conducting the study received survey responses from many perspectives, including school and district leaders, advocates, and government stakeholders. The results showed that 62 percent of those who responded were “strongly” or ”somewhat” dissatisfied with the current at-risk measure (27 percent “strongly”). A total of 25 percent were “strongly” or “somewhat” satisfied (5 percent “strongly”). Respondents also addressed key challenges of the at-risk measure. The team also shared that during the interview process, most interviewees voiced that the current at-risk measure, and other measures, may still be an undercount or under-assessment of student need.



Ms. Blagg and Ms. Gutierrez responded to questions from the committee regarding the study's survey sample size, how the survey was administered and the definition of at-risk.



The materials for this presentation have been shared with committee members and can be found, here: http://leg.colorado.gov/content/isfinance2021acommdocs  

Ms. Blagg continued the presentation by sharing that the study revealed that universal free lunch provides benefits such as an increase in test scores and a reduction of suspension rates. The team examined how different states use different at-risk/poverty measures for allocating funding. She also shared that proposed federal changes could make universal free lunch more accessible for districts and for Colorado.



Ms. Blagg also provided an overview of the alternative at-risk measures that will be included in the final report. Some of the alternative measures include household tax data, alternative income forms, and census poverty estimates. She discussed the benefits and challenges of each alternative at-risk measure.



Ms. Blagg responded to questions from the committee regarding income qualifications for public services such as Medicare.    

Ms. Blagg shared the team's suggestions for next steps which include incorporating alternative measures into the formula and how to support school districts as they provide data for a new measure. Ms. Blagg responded to questions from the committee.

Committee questions and discussion ensued.

Representative McClusksie provided an overview on the cost of living factor.

A memo on the cost of living factor was shared with committee members and can be found, here: http://leg.colorado.gov/content/isfinance2021acommdocs

Brita Darling, Julie Pelegrin, and Alana Rosen, Office of Legislative Legal Services, provided an overview on the process for requesting bill drafts.

Senator Coleman requested a bill to focus on redefining at-risk parameters for students. The bill will establish a new definition for at-risk. The bill will incorporate data provided from the poverty study.



The committee discussed the potential bill draft. Representative McCluskie shared that because the final results of the poverty study will not be released until the beginning of January, the committee may need more time to work on the bill. Representative McCluskie stated that the committee can review the provery study during their meeting on January 10, 2022 and vote to approve the bill a couple of weeks later during the 2022 Legislative Session.  

Committee discussion ensued.

Senator Kirkmeyer requested a bill draft that would increase the state share of special education funding. The bill would require the special education funding tiers to be reviewed and updated.  

Committee discussion ensued.

Representative McCluskie proposed a draft for a bill that would create a Mill Levy Override (MLO) match fund.  



The bill would create an MLO override match fund for purposes of incentivizing lower wealth communities to pass local MLOs so school districts may benefit from additional local funding support.



Representative McCluskie responded to questions from the committee.    

Committee discussion and questions ensued.

According to House Bill 21-1325, if a vote conducted in the School Finance Committee results in a tie, then the Committee Chair can break the tie with an additional vote. Because the vote for Bill 3 resulted in a tie, Representative McCluskie casted an additional vote for the bill. The bill passed on a vote of 5 to 4.