| Sec. 4. Department of Education to develop regional education cost-adjustment model |
| based on public education price index. The Department of Education shall |
| develop a regional education cost-adjustment model that reflects |
| variations in the regional education prices that school |
| administrative units pay for the market basket components of |
| goods and services that units must purchase to provide public |
| education. Based on the public education price index developed |
| by the department, this regional education cost-adjustment model |
| must replace the so-called "National Chamber of Commerce model" |
| in calculating a local municipality's "normalized regional cost- |
| adjustment" under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter |
| 606-A. This regional cost-adjustment factor adjusts a median |
| household income value up or down to more accurately represent |
| variations in regional education costs and is used to determine |
| the capacity of municipal taxpayers in a school administrative |
| unit to raise local revenues to support public education. The |
| cost-adjustment model must be updated every 3 years. The |
| department shall develop this regional education cost-adjustment |
| model and the public education price index by January 1, 2000 and |
| shall implement this regional education cost-adjustment model and |
| the public education price index for the 2000-2001 school year. |
