It was my privilege to be recently appointed to serve on the Index of Taxpaying Ability (ITA) Study Committee. As the name suggests, the focus of this study committe would make the eyes of most normal people glaze over. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, the ITA formula determines how much money should be redistributed from richer counties to poorer school districts. With the inactment of various pieces of legislation over the years, the actual calculation of the formula has become very confusing.
The committee was created to propose a short-term solution to make current school funding less volatile. The committee will also propose a long-term solution to make the formula easier to calculate. We have already received public input and will be meeting between now and the end of the year to agree on our proposal. I will keep you updated on the progress.