House GOP Unveils Budget Proposal

House Republican budget architect Tim Brown says his caucus’ proposed budget, unveiled Monday, will include more money spent on education than ever before in state history.

House Republican leaders have said for months that education was their top priority this session and that they planned a significant increase in funding for K-12 schools.  To that end, Brown says, under the House GOP budget, schools would get $469 million more dollars over the next two years than they did in the last state budget.

“$6.83 billion the first year, nearly $7 billion the second year – a new track record,” Brown said.

That increase includes more money in what’s called the foundation – the basic amount every school gets per student.  The House GOP budget raises the foundation by more than $500 per student over two years, a more than 11 percent increase. 

In line with the governor’s budget proposal, Brown says his caucus’ proposal will eliminate the cap on how much individual school vouchers are worth, but he says that should only cost a few million dollars and won’t erode money for public schools. 

Brown says he plans to vote on the proposed budget in committee this week.