The Legislature increased the property tax rate by five cents this year to keep pace with a 5.4 percent increase in education spending. Lawmakers bemoaned the move, but had little choice other than to sign off on the bill.
In response to the rise in spending, which is forecast to continue, and the tandem rise in tax rates, the Legislature passed H.538.
Rep. Dave Sharpe, D-Bristol, spearheaded the push to pass the bill.
Asked why the legislation, which was pushed through the Senate at a frenetic pace, was such a priority, Sharpe responded, “We felt an obligation to do something with regard to suppressing spending … to go home without doing something is not acceptable to me and I think to many others in this building.”
The only provision in H.538 that is expected to have a concrete impact on school spending is a change to the excess spending threshold. Currently, school districts pay a penalty when their per-pupil spending hits 125 percent of the state average. The bill lowers the threshold for that penalty to 123 percent in Fiscal Year 2015, and to 121 percent in FY 2017.
H.538 also calls for a study on the renter rebate, which is given to tenants to offset a portion of their rent that is assumed to go towards paying the property tax. The study will look at “issues” with the program and explore “other ways to provide assistance to renters with high rents and low incomes.” Originally the bill reduced the renter rebate.
The bill also requests data from the secretary of education about acceptable student-to-staff ratios. H.538’s backers hope this will get the ball rolling for the state to establish minimum ratios, which will then allow them to dole out penalties for schools whose ratios fall below the minimum.
“We don’t have enough information to put actual numbers in the bill,” Sharpe said. He explained that lawmakers are more concerned about staff ratios than they are about teacher ratios.
The bill also makes a technical change to the billing procedure for schools that receive students from other districts.
