An Act To Improve Equity in School Funding

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §15682,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 519, Pt. AAAA, §9, is further amended to read:

§ 15682. Regional adjustment

The commissioner shall make a regional adjustment in the total operating allocation for each school administrative unit determined pursuant to section 15683. The regional adjustment must be based on the regional differences in teacher salary costs or teacher housing costs within labor market areas in the State, as computed by a statewide education policy research institute, and must be applied only to appropriate teacher salary and benefits costs as calculated under section 15678 and salary and benefit costs of other school-level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679.

summary

This bill provides that, beginning in fiscal year 2007-08, the regional adjustment provided to school administrative units under the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act must be based on the regional differences in teacher salary costs or the regional differences in teacher housing costs within labor market areas in the State, whichever provides a greater regional adjustment to the school administrative unit.