An education committee's plan for overhauling North Dakota's school finance system may face rough going in the Legislature, where many lawmakers believe it needs major changes, an Associated Press survey shows.

Gov. John Hoeven has suggested raising state aid to local schools by $80 million over two years as part of the package, a sum that most of the Legislature's minority Democrats believe is too small. Many want an increase of more than $180 million, the AP survey found.

The Commission on Education Improvement, headed by Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, spent almost a year crafting the proposal as part of an agreement to delay a school finance lawsuit against the state.

It provides large infusions of state aid to the nine schools that supported the lawsuit and other "property poor" districts like them, which have less property tax wealth to support each student.

Under the plan, all districts would get a minimum 2 percent annual increase in state aid. Schools that do not qualify for so-called "equity" payments, which are intended to make up their property tax deficiencies, are limited to 7 percent yearly increases.

"Ultimately, every legislator needs some education on how the formula changes work, and how it affects the schools in their district," Dalrymple said. "Some (legislators), I think, are waiting until they get into the legislative session before they really apply themselves to it, and that's normal."

The Associated Press asked lawmakers whether they believed the commission's recommendations needed minor or major changes, or whether they should be approved with only a few modifications.

In the North Dakota House, 32 representatives said the plan needed few or minor changes, while 28 said it needed major changes. Twenty representatives said they were undecided, or were not familiar with the commission's recommendations.

Support for the blueprint was stronger in the Senate, where 23 senators said the plan needed few or minor changes, and 10 said it needed major changes. Six were undecided.

"It's not all bad, but it's not all peaches and cream, either," said state Sen. Layton Freborg, R-Underwood, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "I do think there will be a rude awakening for some districts, when they find out what all of the details are."

Both chambers were split almost evenly about whether Hoeven's suggested $80 million increase in aid to local schools was enough.

Republicans generally agreed it was sufficient, while Democrats said they wanted more.

Hoeven initially promised an aid boost of at least $60 million over two years, but his budget proposal to the Legislature included an $80 million rise.

Democrats have promised to push for a substantially larger increase, using $116 million that Hoeven set aside in his budget recommendations for two years' worth of property tax discounts to residential, agricultural and commercial property owners.

A final Department of Public Instruction analysis on how the increase would affect individual districts was not available Wednesday, but Dalrymple said the extra money will put the plan in a more favorable light.

The 2007 Legislature's regular session begins at noon Jan. 3.

"On the whole, we feel that those who take a look at it, have a chance to digest it and understand it, are finding that it's a major improvement over what we have had," Dalrymple said.