NEWS RELEASE

Boyle County Public Schools will receive an additional $1.12 million in state funding as a result of the district’s growth, according to Rep. Daniel Elliott. Elliott and fellow lawmakers approved HB 553, aimed at ensuring public school districts experiencing significant growth receive the appropriate level of per pupil funding based on average daily attendance. The measure will increase money available to the districts through the state’s Support Educational Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) fund.

“More students in the classroom inevitably leads to higher costs. HB 553 allows us to adjust funding accordingly. This was a simple fix and I appreciate everyone who worked to make it possible,” said Elliott. “I want to thank the leaders, school board members, and Superintendent Mike LaFavers in my district for bringing this issue to our attention.”

When calculating school funding for SEEK purposes, the Kentucky Department of Education uses what is called average daily attendance (ADA). In response to attendance fluctuations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers approved HB 1 during the 2022 Regular Session. That measure allowed school districts to use school year 2018-2019 ADA or their current ADA. However, by allowing school districts to choose, the measure created an unintended consequence of not accounting for growth school districts. Growth school districts are those districts that have an increasing ADA.

According to Elliott, the Department of Education considers Boyle County Public Schools a growth school district when calculating ADA. HB 553 delivers funding for Boyle County Public Schools and other growing school districts by allowing them to use their ADA for the first two months of the 2022-2023 school year. The adjusted funding will mean an additional $10.5 million in funding across the state.

For more information about HB 553, please visit legislature.ky.gov.