The chairman of the North Dakota House Education Committee says he hopes the interim Education committee will be able to get a handle on what it actually costs to educate a student in elementary and secondary schools.
Rep. Mike Nathe will be a member of that interim committee.
"With the new K-12 formula, we need to find out what is the true cost to educate our children in the k-12 system," said Nathe. "We will be working at that diligently, and gathering as much information as we can."
The new funding formula will mean the state will pick up well over 80 percent of the cost of local education. The plan will lower local property tax.
Nathe says that means the per-pupil cost paid by the state has grown.
"We set the per pupil payment for the first year of the 2013-2015 biennium at $8810, and the second year at over $9000," said Nathe. "That's a jump from $3900 in the previous biennium."
Nathe says lawmakers need to find out what the real number is.
"That will also help with the property tax situation," said Nathe. "We need to fund out what that number is, so it can be plugged into the formula for the 2015-2017 biennium."
