I_SFinance_2019A 08/19/2019 09:24:22 AM Committee Summary

Rebecca Sibilia and Matt Richmond, EdBuild, came to the table to discuss the school funding formula and the EdBuild simulatoin tool.  Ms. Sibillia and Mr. Richmond distributed a memo regarding funding for cost of living in districts (Attachment A) and provided the committee with an overview of the cost of living factor in the funding formula.  Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States (ECS), and Tracie Rainey, School Finance Project, were also present to discuss the cost of living factor. Committee discusison ensued.

Ms. Sibillia and Mr. Richmond answered committee questions regarding other state practices incorporating a cost of living factor in their funding formulas, as well as mill levy overrides and their impact on the cost of living factor. Committee discussion ensued.

Mr. Griffith and Ms. Rainey discussed the cost of living factor and mill levy overrides in the state.  Committee discussion continued regarding the relationship between mill levy overrides and factors impacting the school finance formula.

Marc Carey, Legislative Council Staff, responded to questions regarding the personnel cost factors in school districts. Mr. Carey indicated that larger districts incorporate a 90% personnel cost factor into their formulas. Ms. Rainey further discussed the impact of personnel cost factors across districts. Mr. Griffith also discussed the personnel cost factor. The panel continued to answer committee questions regarding cost of living and the personnel factor and the impact of the elimination of the cost of living factor on district funding.

Ms. Sibilia and Mr. Richmond summarized the policy options that EdBuild is recommending to the committee and how those different options would impact the funding formula. Mr. Richmond and Ms. Sibilia and the rest of the panel answered questions from the committee.  The committee recessed.

The committee came back to order.

The panel returned to the table, and Ms. Sibilia and Mr. Richmond discussed the impact of the size factor on the school finance formula. Ms. Sibilia distributed a memorandum regarding size factor to the committee (Attachment B), and accompanying graphs and charts regarding size factor can be found here: https://public.tableau.com/profile/data.team4124#!/vizhome/ColoradoSizeF.... Ms. Sibilia discussed the relationship between student density and size factor and how other states use size factor in their funding formulas. Ms. Sibilia answered questions from the committee.  Mr. Griffith and Ms. Rainey discussed the state's size factor in the funding formula and the benefits of how Colorado uses that factor.

The panel responded to questions regarding the size factor. Ms. Rainey discussed the need to address the definition of

"at-risk" and how that should be applied towards the size factor. The panel continued to answer questions.  Mr. Griffith discussed a 50-state comparison of funding formulas completed by ECS, which can be found here: https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-k-12-funding/.

Ms. Sibilia discussed funding for at-risk students within the context of the school funding formula. A memorandum prepared by EdBuild was distributed to the committee (Attachment C), and accompanying graphs and charts can be accessed here: https://public.tableau.com/profile/data.team4124#!/vizhome/ColoradoLowIn.... The panel continued to discuss the at-risk factor and different ways to define at-risk students. Mr. Griffith discussed the use of free and reduced price lunch to calculate at-risk students and discussed community eligibility for state welfare programs.  The panel discussed the use of direct certification to define at-risk students. Committee discussion ensued with the panel.

The committee recessed.

The committee came back to order.

Representative McCluskie welcomed district representatives to the table to discuss cost of living and size factors. Brett Johnson, Chief Financial Officer, Aurora Public Schools (APS), introduced himself to the committee and discussed the two factors' impact on the APS budget. Scott Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Douglas County School District (DCSD), introduced himself to the committee and gave a brief background of the district. He also discussed how the funding formula impacts different schools in DCSD. He stated that most of the students in the district qualify for reduced lunch, but not free lunch, so including reduced lunch in the at-risk factor would benefit DCSD. Dr. Leslie Nichols, Superintendent, Gunnison Watershed School District (GWSD), introduced herself to the committee and gave the committee a background of the district demographic, which includes Gunnison and Crested Butte. Dr. Nichols stated that she believes that the cost of living factor is necessary in the formulation of the funding formula. She discussed discrepancies in the current formula in calculating actual cost of living factors for each school district. She talked about the personnel factor, and how it is applied to the funding formula.

The panel responded to questions from the committee. The panel discussed each of their districts' mill levy overrides and how that money is used. The panel discussed how much revenue their districts can raise per mill levy override, and how property values in the district impact district budgets, as well as factors preventing mill levy overrides being passed.

Ms. Sibilia and Mr. Richmond returned to the table and committee discussion ensued.