Boone County School Board backs four 2026 legislative priorities including SEEK funding increases

Boone County — The Boone County School Board voted to endorse a package of four legislative priorities the district will send to state lawmakers, aimed at increasing state education funding and expanding programs that drive student readiness and safety.

The priorities, presented by district leaders and principals on behalf of the board's legislative committee, call for: restoring SEEK (state education) funding with step increases over the next biennia to reduce the district's local share; greater funding for workforce readiness and dual‑credit affordability (including a proposed $25 incentive per successfully completed dual‑credit course and a five‑year tuition freeze); guaranteed access to at least one year of preschool and codified funding for full‑day kindergarten; and increased resources for student health and safety, including counselor positions and a larger safe‑schools grant matrix.

The committee provided numeric targets for the SEEK request, citing phased increases (for example, raising per‑pupil SEEK allocations in staged increments) and asked the board to forward the document to legislators. Principal Jerry Gels detailed dual‑credit success metrics at Ignite, noting high continuation rates for graduates and urging incentives to expand access, particularly for students from lower‑income backgrounds. "We've seen dual‑credit work — students stay in college and many already have degrees," Gels said.

Board members pressed for clarification about local fiscal impacts and hold‑harmless language if property values rise. Committee members said the proposal seeks to move the state share closer to a 60% target over time and that the document includes quantifiable measures intended to make the district's requests actionable for legislators.

The board discussed how it will respond to rapidly filed bills during the session and agreed the legislative committee can reconvene or issue position statements as needed. Dr. Hauswald said the priorities will be distributed to district staff, families and state legislators and that the district will remain engaged with KSBA and other associations as bills emerge.

The board did not vote on individual pieces of model legislation at the meeting; the action was to approve the priorities package for transmission to lawmakers.