• By ROGER MCKINNEY 
  • The Columbia Board of Education on Monday established its legislative priorities for the upcoming session, focusing on school funding.
    The list of priorities, which was not approved but accepted by consensus, includes support for full funding of the foundation formula with no further downward changes to adequacy targets. The legislature last year approved a reduction in the state adequacy target, which the state uses to determine per-pupil funding for public schools. The board also prioritized funding summer school, something for which the state does not provide money.
    The board also supports full state funding of school transportation and allowing school districts to coordinate with their communities to combine some bus systems, which currently is forbidden under state law. Another priority would be to change state law from requiring a four-sevenths majority approval for bond issues to a simple majority approval.
    The board opposes any legislation that diverts or reduces revenue from public schools, including through tuition tax credits and vouchers. The board also listed its opposition to redirecting resources from public schools to “unproven, for-profit charter schools until the charter reforms passed in 2012 are implemented and proven effective.”
    Board member Paul Cushing said charter schools are not “unproven” but instead have been proved to be ineffective.
    During discussion of a bullying policy change related to a revision in state law, board member Darin Preis also recommended board policy include a rollback of the bullying law so that it does not conflict with criminal laws, which other board members agreed to by consensus.
    State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, said it was going to be a tough budget year.
    “We’re going to do whatever we can to adequately fund schools,” Basye said. He said diverting public money to private schools and charter schools also would be a tough sell for those in the legislature advocating for it.
    In other business Monday, the board gave initial approval to a policy to establish damages be assessed to teachers who take another job after signing a contract with the district and approved a resolution repealing hourly rates set for parent educators in the Parents as Teachers program.