The proposals to change the school funding formula, expected to be considered today by the Education Committee, contain generous portions of language that only accountants could love. But no matter how arcane, the details of these bills will determine how the state distributes its share of school funding. Short of becoming experts on the funding formula, the public might look for these four points as part of any successful reform.

The funding formula currently assumes that the local contribution to education is based on property being assessed at 6.06 mills. In reality, mill rates are considerably higher, especially for the poorest communities. Raising the mill rate to increase the formula’s per-pupil guarantee does not, by itself, cost the state any more money, but it does reallocate funds more fairly.

The percentage reduction factor, a process that allows Augusta to reduce its share of a district’s operating cost, disproportionately harms towns that rely heavily on state subsidies. Reductions based on mill rates — an idea underlying the formula itself — is a fairer way to meet the state’s annual appropriation.

Income and a cost-of-living adjustment were added to the formula during the last few years under the theory that the formula should be responsive to a taxpayer’s personal wealth. But because municipalities collect money to fund schools based only on property value — and, in the better-off communities, largely on commercial or industrial property values — the income adjustment never made sense. The COLA in the formula fails because it is based on guesswork — towns do not have the kind of information the formula pretends they do and the result of this is to shift money away from where it is needed most.

Finally, no school funding formula is worth anything unless the state contributes enough money to it. The School Finance Act of 1985 called for at least 55 percent of the costs to come from Augusta because at that level some measure of equity among districts was achieved. Reform plans should return Maine to that funding percentage.

Lawmakers have several potential bills to choose from: Rep. Tina Baker of Bangor and Sen. Mary Cathcart of Orono have a valuable proposal, as does Sen. John Nutting of Androscoggin. Education Commissioner Duke Albanese has a plan based on the Essential Programs & Services model developed over the last year that might work if considerably more money were put into the system.

With widespread understanding in the Legislature that the funding formula needs to be changed, this is the best chance since the last recession to return fairness to the way Maine pays for education. It is not a chance lawmakers can afford to miss.