The Associated Press

Local school systems may get more room to decide how they will spend their state funding under proposed legislation.

House Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman filed a bill Wednesday that would enact recommendations made by Governor Sonny Perdue’s task force on education finance a month ago.

The proposed legislation would allow school systems to enter into “performance contracts” with the state. Under the contracts, the districts would agree to meet more rigorous academic standards in exchange for freedom from mandates, such as strict class-size rules, and flexibility to spend state dollars where they choose.

State officials have said the change is a first step toward reworking the formula used to determine how much state funding school districts receive.