SALADO, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott signed a sweeping public school finance bill into law on Wednesday, bringing new state money to public schools in dire need of it.

House Bill 2 is an $8.5 billion package of funding for public schools, the most significant increase in funding for public education in the state's history. The public school funding package is a deal between lawmakers in the House and Senate, the result of negotiations to reconcile differing visions between the two chambers on how to provide public schools with more funding.

It would raise the base amount of money public schools receive for each student, known as the "basic allotment," by $55 per student. It includes $1.3 billion for a new Allotment for Basic Costs, which works out to $106 per student, designed to help s

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