[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6342440,"mediaKeyId","2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70","parentId",2255103,"title","Committee hears $600 million proposal to help replace aging K–12 school buildings","audioSeconds",3869,"startMs",3869000,"endMs",-1,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70&start=3869&end=0","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70/thumbnail_3869000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6342440/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-600-million-proposal-to-help-replace-aging-K12-school-buildings","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342440-9d5a9828a7bec3ffebf254e9b29696f7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771171615&Signature=AW5DSeHTEggi84ZLZJvASzNRRNGEvlEKoB20ILlD~bixHBJllNB7mZL5JnyprnRnebs4pCCz0cOcTfyvqalYVKEcHlvhiqn6o86WSIi~pDCj4k6l1pTng8OS6YyiwcP9~F6YedQMchMNtIY5XK3i0cY-Uclb-9h3XHi6Iv7iJuw8zPSWEwz4Z8BlfMejqZt9dZPWhn4ZuSC9lf-LB2Yx2S9ov-FJoRglh9ol6y2FGFu7RhwNqLcze5hFEfk63ob6eK6ceK~o6a24KlgcL15nAD~9qi2zxu0x-MQCoA5W9pIZiqeSHWYbGJuNVjRqAqzjkoGn0pK-45gTXACn-LRCAg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota State Legislature","date","2025-02-10T00:00:00Z","article","Representative Murphy presented House Bill 16 04 to the House Education Committee as a state‑level approach to replace and renovate aging school buildings, calling it a “North Dakota model” that would use a sliding‑scale state contribution to reduce local tax burdens and standardize designs to achieve construction efficiencies.

Murphy said the proposal aims to address an “impending crisis” in many rural districts where buildings are structurally deteriorating, heating and cooling systems are near end of life and local property‑tax capacity is insufficient to fund replacements. He described a scalable set of state‑approved plans and a construction management model intended to reduce locality cost premiums, and he said projects for which the state funds 40% or more would require use of the state plan to control costs.

Key elements described in testimony and materials:
- A sliding funding scale tied to the value of a mill (local property‑tax base) with higher state shares for districts with lower property wealth; Murphy cited counts of districts in each funding bucket (for example, dozens of districts in the highest‑state‑share buckets).
- An engineering assessment requirement: a district must demonstrate that renovation costs exceed a threshold (Murphy cited 60% of the cost of new construction) to qualify for replacement rather than repair.
- A mandate that districts demonstrate the local share (bond proceeds or building‑fund cash) before state funds are committed; the bill includes incentives for small‑district consolidation for shared new facilities.
- Program administration by DPI with a selected architect and construction manager to produce standardized, scalable plans, bid work in packages and manage procurement to drive down labor and material costs.

Supporters: the School Construction Coalition, represented by Valley City Superintendent Josh Johnson and student speaker Carter Hass (Valley City), told the committee many smaller districts are in critical condition and that local referenda frequently fail because the tax impact is too large. Johnson said the bill could act as a form of property‑tax relief and gave a local example: a hypothetical $40 million referendum could raise taxes an estimated $300 per $100,000 of residential value in Valley City.

Opponents and questions: no organized opposition testified in the transcript, but members raised fiscal questions: how standardized plans would be bid and procured, whether districts should plan for future growth, and how the proposal would interact with existing low‑interest revolving loan funds. Representative Schreiberbeck and others asked whether loan programs and direct grants could be combined to stretch available resources; witnesses and the sponsor acknowledged that a single biennial appropriation would likely not cover all needs and that the total need could exceed $600 million.

Process and next steps: committee members discussed details of plan administration, bidding and assessments. Representative Murphy said the bill would work with an architect and construction manager selected under the statute; several superintendents urged quick action and assessments. The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 16 04 at the end of the scheduled testimony; no committee vote on the bill appears in the transcript.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Education Mon, Feb 10, 2025 10:00 AM-12:15 PM","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Murphy presented House Bill 16‑04, a proposal to create a state program to help replace and renovate aging K–12 school buildings using a sliding scale of state funding tied to local property‑tax capacity.","taxTitle","Education, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28889,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6342445,"House committee hears proposal to fund universal school meals from Legacy Fund earnings",2236,300000,2536000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70&start=300&end=2536","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70/thumbnail_300000.jpg","/articles/6342445/North-Dakota/House-committee-hears-proposal-to-fund-universal-school-meals-from-Legacy-Fund-earnings","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342445-98456f68382196b147c20944164366ee/orig.mp4?Expires=1771171615&Signature=BB73LLMB-Ge2UPbTiGo1pbCGt9oOAvjWInNoVNMTfgEIss2X7Q4lupn2tkXtdkfFazEknRnw-8Xd3t9yyVC~6J8jH6~VCQx8YMZMLRh59TAEfgXvlL6ikYvGtabt2IX4aP1sOBf3j3LI-jQWukYO7WP4EzVOpS0FL0Ckk5UcACNkIO2fxGUchhZn1UEkP6ZkpUQvcNkEougRzS~nbredKtjI0j1bWr9-2MclupEpZi00lWuM60QJa78pbRM5MfxJ7KArfgxPqRYEVkssiZ2V8BnqGGG1E62qUoHCcEzwNK5lXtfFcqf1dEDW4VpLkTTarMW6HcEtWmCu6KifiskhrQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Lori Beth Hager, chairing her remarks as the sponsor, introduced House Bill 15 53 to the House Education Committee, saying the bill would provide free school lunches for all public and nonpublic school students and that “the source of funding would be the legacy fund earnings rather than general funds.”

The bill proposes using legacy fund earnings to cover roughly $140 million to feed students for two school years, which Hager described as about $70 million per year after capturing existing federal free and reduced reimbursements. Hager told the committee the per‑student cost in the estimate is roughly $5–$6 a day for about 175 school days, and that the proposal first “capture[s] any federal free and reduced lunches” so federal funds are credited before state funding covers remaining need.

Why it matters: proponents said eliminating school‑meal charges reduces hunger, stigma and classroom barriers to learning and would also return household spending into local economies. A wide coalition of education groups, student leaders and public‑health organizations testified in support, citing examples of students missing meals or being impacted by negative lunch balances.

Testimony and concerns: student speakers and school leaders described situations they say arise from unpaid meal balances. Michelle Wagner, child nutrition director for Bismarck Public Schools, told the committee schools sometimes link non‑meal benefits to meal applications and warned that universal free meals could reduce some federal funding unless districts take steps to preserve eligibility for other programs. Wagner said the USDA rules and districts’ use of benefits forms mean local districts “could require all parents to complete some type of benefit form” to protect linked federal revenues and benefits.

DPI analysis: Lynell Johnson of the Department of Public Instruction provided neutral testimony and supplemental figures: of about 39,000 students who currently qualify for free or reduced‑price meals, roughly 25,800 are “streamline certified” (directly enrolled through SNAP, TANF, Medicaid or identification as homeless/foster) and would not need new applications; Johnson said the committee would likely have to reach roughly 15,000 students in outreach if applications were required. DPI staff also told members the fiscal estimate assumes roughly $35 million a year in federal reimbursements that would continue to flow to districts under the proposal.

Supporters: groups and individuals testifying in favor included the North Dakota AFL‑CIO (Landis Larson), the North Dakota Association of Student Councils (student leader Carter Hass), Mandan Middle School Student Council (Addison Rademacher), the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders (Amy Copas), the Dakota School Boards Association and public‑health advocates such as the American Heart Association. Valley City and other superintendents also asked legislators to consider local examples where facilities or families struggle to keep accounts current.

Process and next steps: the committee scheduled a 35‑minute, time‑certain public‑testimony block and heard many witnesses in support; the hearing was closed at the end of the public testimony period without a committee vote recorded in the transcript. The sponsor said House Bill 15 53 and companion legislation (House Bill 14 75) will be considered together when the committee takes up the bills for a recommendation.

","Representative Lori Beth Hager introduced House Bill 15 53 to the House Education Committee, saying it would fund free school lunches for public and nonpublic students using legacy fund earnings rather than general funds.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6342435,"Committee rejects amendment that would have limited early rollout of school-choice payments to private schools",1256,2561000,3817000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70&start=2561&end=3817","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2255103-75d9c782b03a0ef40e9399473965bd70/thumbnail_2561000.jpg","/articles/6342435/North-Dakota/Committee-rejects-amendment-that-would-have-limited-early-rollout-of-school-choice-payments-to-private-schools","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6342435-cad062efa81656b43de6cbe0675feba1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771171615&Signature=Cwb0mKDlgFaDElHmE9tWMPP8wgxT-R54mjHBJ5vhv0GjRpu~V-lcBWYP8paG22UbDysssVR7IFut5OdK1Q-1oKONdBlMCROhp66Mq5oeDWbPFNnN7hf53SM4f1qC5SkUeZ879NNL3yo8i1h4vhPFGlwteirfSM6FavufPVSdnKKQpOccjy2qvo56uVmP66sZ7E9hLvHuSlrXSLEb8MU-FncXP15nBiV1YUAYEHUzhVrkRaZQNMcF0~C1vX-dq0dfemIwLoUm41e5kpTLzDBWXNKqflPkBSy-gfi34DaQiQ~v0pdRWQR24sNMcOXCEM0DG-7pycFC-MVc1EWT41KfVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Education Committee debated proposed amendments to school‑choice bills including House Bill 15‑40, 15‑90 and 16‑07. Representative Marshall described an amendment, sent by Representative Koppelman, that would remove home‑schooled and public school students from the initial rollout and phase the per‑pupil payment: 40% of the per‑pupil payment in the 2026–27 school year and 80% in the 2027–28 school year, intended to reduce the immediate fiscal impact to about $40 million in the first year.

A motion to give the amendment a due‑pass recommendation was made by Representative Haug and seconded by Representative Marshall. Committee debate focused on fairness, formula details and the potential that the state would fund private education at levels that exceed what some public districts receive. Representative Wagner said, “What we're doing here is we're actually spending more state money on non public schools than we're spending on public schools,” and said she could not support the amendment. Representative Novak said she opposed state funding of private schools and objected to routine transfers to education savings accounts.

Roll‑call result: the committee recorded the roll call on the amendment and the motion failed 7–7. The recorded votes in the transcript were: Yes — Hauck; Heilman; Marshall; Morton; Osowski; (and two other 'Yes' votes counted in the tally). No — Conney; Hager; Haddleston; Jonas; Longmire; Mackie; Novak. The chair announced the final tally as 7‑7 and the amendment failed. The committee resumed other business after the vote.

","During debate on several school‑choice bills, the committee considered an amendment (proposed by Representative Koppelman and presented by Representative Marshall) to narrow coverage and phase in per‑pupil payments; a motion to give that amendment a due‑pass recommendation failed 7–7 on a roll call.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears $600 million proposal to help replace aging K–12 school buildings

House committee hears proposal to fund universal school meals from Legacy Fund earnings

Committee rejects amendment that would have limited early rollout of school-choice payments to private schools