Legislation that would freeze state aid to public schools at current levels cleared its first legislative hurdle Thursday night.
The measure, House Concurrent Resolution 243, is a revamped request approved earlier this week by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE.
It was approved by the House Education Committee and next faces action on the House floor.
The proposal would increase state aid by about $44 million strictly to offset the costs of about 6,000 new public school students.

BESE originally sought an increase of $109 million in state school aid. But the measure failed to win legislative support amid predictions that state revenue will drop $3 billion in the next two years.