Legislative Advocacy - Capital Testimony

House Education Finance Committee 4/14/26

I testified at the Capitol today in support of HF4114, a bipartisan bill to repeal the $250 million in special education cuts coming. I wanted to share why this matters for our community.

In Stillwater Area Public Schools, approximately 1,800 students (including those in our district and around 40 learners in local public charter and private schools) receive special education services. These supports are not optional, but legally required and critical to student success.

Our district spends more than $30 million annually to provide special education services and related transportation. Currently, we have a $9.2 million special education cross-subsidy - costs for services that are required but not reimbursed to the district and must instead be covered by our general fund.

If the proposed $250 million in state cuts move forward, that would translate to approximately an additional $1.7 million loss in funding for our district in the 2028–29 school year.

That level of impact would affect staffing, class sizes, student supports, and opportunities across our district.