These are laws that require local funding bodies to allocate at least the same amount of funding to school districts as was budgeted the previous year for operating expenditures, excluding capital outlay and debt service, unless there is a decline in student enrollment. Maintenance of effort laws ensure that financial contributions by one funding body are used to enhance existing financial support from another. For example, these laws ensure that new or increased state funding provides additional support to schools, and does not result in simply replacing existing local funding, also known as supplanting. (Source: TN Alliance K-12 School Finance Glossary)
