An Act To Address Labor Market Inequities in the School Funding Formula
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0566
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: TUELL
Amends: 20-A MRSA §15682

Legislative Document
No. 566
H.P. 411
House of Representatives, February 24, 2021
An Act To Address Labor Market Inequities in the School Funding 
Formula
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 22, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TUELL of East Machias.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §15682, as amended by PL 2011, c. 419, §2, is further amended 
to read:
§15682.  Regional adjustment
The commissioner shall make a regional adjustment in the total operating allocation 
for each school administrative unit determined pursuant to section 15683.  The regional 
adjustment must be based on the regional differences in teacher salary costs, for labor 
market areas in which the school administrative unit is located, as computed by a statewide 
education policy research institute, and must be applied only to appropriate teacher salary 
and benefits costs as calculated under section 15678 and salary and benefit costs of other 
school-level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679. Beginning in 
fiscal year 2012-13, and for each subsequent fiscal year, Except as provided in this section, 
the commissioner shall make a regional adjustment in the total operating allocation for each 
school administrative unit determined pursuant to section 15683. The regional adjustment 
must be based on the regional differences in teacher salary costs, for labor market areas in 
which the school administrative unit is located, as computed by a statewide education 
policy research institute, and must be applied only to appropriate teacher salary costs as 
calculated under section 15678 and salary costs of other school-level staff who are not 
teachers as calculated under section 15679.
Beginning in fiscal year 2024-25 and for each subsequent fiscal year, the commissioner 
may not make a regional adjustment that results in a decrease in a school administrative 
unit's allocation for teacher salary costs under section 15678 and salary costs of other 
school-level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679.  For any school 
administrative unit for which the regional adjustment for fiscal year 2021-22 in the total 
operating allocation determined pursuant to section 15683 results in a decrease in the unit's 
allocation for teacher salary costs under section 15678 and salary costs of other school-
level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679, the commissioner shall 
reduce the adjustment incrementally in fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 to transition from 
the fiscal year 2021-22 adjustment amount to zero by fiscal year 2024-25.  For any school 
administrative unit for which the regional adjustment for fiscal year 2021-22 in the total 
operating allocation determined pursuant to section 15683 results in an increase in the unit's 
allocation for teacher salary costs under section 15678 and salary costs of other school-
level staff who are not teachers as calculated under section 15679, the commissioner shall 
set the adjustment in fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the amount of the 
adjustment in fiscal year 2021-2022.
SUMMARY
This bill requires that, beginning in fiscal year 2024-25, when the Commissioner of 
Education makes the regional adjustment in the total operating allocation for each school 
administrative unit, also known as the labor market adjustment, the commissioner may not 
make an adjustment in the total operating allocation that decreases a school administrative 
unit's allocation for teacher and other school-level staff salary costs.  The bill also requires 
the commissioner to reduce the adjustment incrementally to zero between fiscal years 
2021-22 and 2024-25 for any school administrative unit for which the regional adjustment 
in fiscal year 2021-22 results in a decrease in the unit's allocation for teacher and other 
school-level staff salary costs.  Finally, the bill requires the commissioner to maintain the 
adjustment amount at the fiscal year 2021-22 amount for the subsequent 3 fiscal years for 
any school administrative unit for which the adjustment in fiscal year 2021-22 results in an 
increase in the unit's allocation for teacher and other school-level staff salary costs.