Earlier this week the House Capital Budget Committee held a public hearing for HB 1775. The bill would create modernization and construction grants for school districts with enrollment of 1,000 or less. (Including charter and tribal schools, in SY 2021–22, 164 districts have enrollment under 1,000.) Grant applications would be prioritized based on the district’s remaining debt capacity, severity of the district’s financial constraints, condition of existing facilities, and district enrollment. Districts would be allowed to use this grant to fulfill up to 70% of the local funding requirement of the school construction assistance program (SCAP).

The fiscal note for HB 1775 estimates that it would increase state capital budget spending by $1.8 million in 2021–23 and $238.7 million in 2023–25. (That includes the costs of the new grants, planning grants, and associated SCAP grants.)

Meanwhile, HJR 4200 would amend the state constitution to allow school districts to issue bonds if a majority of voters agrees. (The implementing legislation is HB 1226.) Currently, bonds require approval of 60% of voters. The fiscal note for HJR 4200 notes that the fiscal impact is indeterminate because we don’t know what bonds will be on ballots in the future or how future voters will vote on them. However, based on past results, it is highly likely that more bond issues would pass with a lower threshold. If more bond issues are successful, demand for SCAP grants would increase.

Based on election experience from 2016 through 2020, the fiscal note estimates that the additional SCAP spending if HJR 4200 passes would be $202.0 million in 2023–25 and $424.7 million in 2025–27. It estimates that the amount of local bond issues would increase by $996.4 million in 2023–25 and $2.095 billion in 2025–27.

As I noted earlier this month, the Wahkiakum School District has sued the state for not adequately funding school facilities. (In that post and this one, I wrote more about SCAP and other school construction funding.)