Another try at the formula

Democratic lawmakers are going to take a crack at doing what five task force’s in the last decade have failed to do: reinvent the school-funding formula. One difference in their approach, however, is encouraging. Instead of addressing the problem where the money comes out, from the state to communities, lawmakers intend to consider how it comes in, from taxpayers to the state or municipality.

Currently, the collection of taxes to fund schools is simple. Property taxes now make up the majority of funding for schools. The state has disbursed an ever-diminishing percentage through the general purpose aid to education to fulfill its portion. The shift since the late 1980s has placed an increasing burden on property owners, and prompted a recent petition to cap property taxes at 1 percent of valuation. The petition quickly gained 58,000 signatures.

The task force would examine what other states have done to more fairly distribute the cost of education and report its findings to the Legislature. Colorado dedicates some of its lottery revenues to its schools. Michigan is used as an example by proponents of the task force. It shifted much of its education costs to the sales tax by doubling that rate from 3 percent to 6 percent. Democrats aren’t necessarily recommending Michigan’s method, but they do want to know what sort of options are out there to offer relief to property owners.

One thing most fomula reformers agree on: If state government intends to enforce statewide outcome standards, and Gov. Angus King certainly does, as do both major political parties, then it must pick up a greater percentage of the tab, perhaps 60 percent or 70 percent. That means moving away from the property tax as the chief fund-raiser.

There is a danger here. Property taxes are a relatively stable source of revenue; sales taxes, given the exemptions in Maine, and income taxes are not. School districts not only need adequate levels of funding, they need predictable levels that allow planning.

Part of the answer for the task force may be found in looking at the wide range of efforts in school mil rates for various communities. Not all municipalities have placed a premium on their children’s educations. Another area for consideration is the high fixed costs of operating a school district and how changes can be encouraged through the funding formula.

Eventually, task-force recommendations may go to referendum, as occurred in Michigan. As Maine discovered in the early ’90s, funding formulas are only as good as the government’s commitment to keeping them. The real challenge for the task force will be to ensure that state government doesn’t give up on education during economic hard times.