Update (1/22/09) -eFeatures
Please contact your legislators about the importance of finding new revenue for public education. Also talk to your family and friends about the impact of last year's cuts and the potential impact of these cuts. Go to http://www.ourvoicewashingtonea.org
Notice: The Governor released her Supplemental Operating Budget proposal this morning to amend the remaining spending in the current two year budget period. Drafting this proposal was complicated by the state's ongoing revenue troubles which meant that she had a $2.6 billion revenue shortfall against the current two year spending plan adopted by the legislature last spring. This latest shortfall is framed in that context where the state has already considerably reduced funding and now has to cut nearly every remaining discretionary program.
The Governor was quite clear that she only presents this budget because she is required to propose a balanced budget that contains no additional revenue under law. The Governor acknowledged her concern over this budget and plans to release a second budget in January that will include necessary revenue increases in order to avoid the most damaging cuts. As the Governor's budget office looks ahead to the next two year spending period in 2011-13, they project that current state revenue will fall another $2.8 billion below the carry-forward spending level.
To cover the expected immediate shortfall, the Governor is proposing to reduce spending in the following major areas:
· Fund Transfers and Use of Balances ($ 900 million)
· Human Services ($ 850 million)
· Higher Education ($ 370 million)
· K-12 Education ($ 408 million)
K-12 Budget Reduction Components:
The 2009-11 legislatively adopted maintenance level for K-12 spending is $13.17 billion near General Fund-State. The Governor's proposed supplemental budget provides just over $13 billion in spending for the adjusted two-year period. However, the overall K-12 budget is reduced by $ 408 million with the difference being the accommodation of additional spending for higher caseload costs attributable to more students than originally budgeted and a higher staff mix cost for certificated instructional staff. The major reductions are:
Levy equalization is eliminated in the 2011 calendar year $ (142.9 million)
K-4 Staff Enhancement is eliminated in the 2010-11 school year (110.6 million)
Initiative 728 Student Achievement funds are eliminated in the 2010-11 school year (78.5 million)
All Day Kindergarten is eliminated for the 2010-11 school year (33.6 million)
Learning Improvement Day is eliminated for the 2010-11 school year (15 million)
Gifted Education funding is eliminated for the 2010-11 school year (7.4 million)
Various small grant programs to schools from OSPI are eliminated (13.8 million)
Alternative Routes to Certification is Reduced (about 50%) (2 million)
Focused Assistance to Schools is Reduced (about 50%) (1.5 million)
It is important to note that the top four listed items will all result in significant staff reductions in schools throughout the state. We estimate that just the K-4 class size enhancement and the I-728 funding provide for about 3,000 classroom teachers statewide, and those positions will no longer be funded by the state. In addition, many ESP members and additional CIS are funded through the state's levy equalization payments, although it's difficult to fully quantify the staff losses that will result from that cut. It is easy to say that on average that class sizes in Washington will rise by about 2 to 3 students as a result of these cuts.
Compensation:
The loss of the remaining Learning Improvement Day (LID) will result in another 0.55% reduction in base pay for teachers.
There are no other compensation-related changes contemplated in the supplemental spending plan, so the funding for employee pensions remains the same as originally budgeted. Similarly, the planned increase in funding for employee health benefits continues to be scheduled to increase from the current year amount of $745 per month to $768 per month for the 2010-11 school year. The amounts due the Health Care Authority for the retiree remittance ($59.59 this year and $64.90 in the 2010-11 school year) also remain the same.
Funding for bonus payments to those certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will continue as originally budgeted under the Governor's proposal.
As a final note on K-12 funding, the Governor did suggest this morning that her proposal for new revenue would be used to buy back many of the cuts contained in this budget. One of the items she specifically noted for future funding would be the Levy Equalization program. This effort would be in concert with another proposal she mentioned today (details still forthcoming) to increase the levy lid on local school districts to 36% for all districts, along with a commensurate increase in levy equalization payments to the poorest quartile of school districts to 18%.
Please feel free to contact Randy Parr (WEA Budget Analyst-Lobbyist) rparr@washingtonea.org if you've any questions on the above, or any other budget related item not covered here.
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Tracie Morris
FEA President
http://www.ferndaleea.org
http://www.weafourthcorner.org
http://www.washingtonea.org
*Working for the benefit of educators in the Ferndale School District to maintain quality for our students.
Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Adam Goldstein (Head Negotiator)
Tracie Morris (FEA President)