The Orcas Island School Board and Superintendent/Principal Barbara Kline spent Feb. 8 and 9 at a Washington State School Directors’ Association/Washington Association of School Administrators Legislative Conference in Olympia.
The purpose of the conference was to provide information on current state and federal legislative activities. It was also an opportunity to visit with Representatives Jeff Morris and Dave Quall and Senator Kevin Ranker.
The conference highlighted several key issues relevant to public education. Marty Brown, Legislative Director for Governor Gregoire, talked about cuts to public school funding in the 2010-11 state budget and the impact of the Federal stimulus package. Brown said that Federal relief money would not be used to “backfill” cuts to the state’s education funding next year, but would be used to pay for the increase in the caseload brought on by parents being unable to afford private education and enrollment in public schools increasing as a result. The caseload forecast by the state is due Feb. 15.
Brown said that the Governor’s proposed cuts to education for the 2010-11 budget would affect the Orcas Island schools directly with a reduction in I-728 funding (to lower classroom size) and cuts to teacher’s salaries (through a reduction of I-732 funding/COLA monies.)
Bills before now before the legislature were discussed at the conference including the “Basic Education Task Force” bill (SB 5444/HB1410) and the “Full Funding Coalition” bill (SB 5607/HB 1817). Both are prototypes for increased spending for public schools.
“It is to the credit of our lawmakers that they are finally appreciating the state’s constitutional duty to ‘amply’ fund education,” said Janet Brownell, Chair of the OISD school board. “While we are excited that our legislators are looking to replace an antiquated and seriously flawed system of school funding, both bills have weaknesses.
“Many of the provisions in the Task Force bill create new programs and requirements for schools, districts, and employees, but there is no revenue source identified with the increased spending, nor is there a “null or void” clause which would relieve the districts of their responsibility to fund these increases if there no funding source. The Full Funding Coalition bill goes much further in funding our schools, however, it was written in June 2008 before the current economic condition of our state.”
Representatives Morris and Quall and Senator Ranker said that either the bills would die until such time funding was available, or there would be a third bill created from the best parts of both the Task Force and Full Funding bills.
“As increased funding of our schools is tied to increased revenue, and the state is facing a possible $8 billion deficit, it was apparent to the OISD school board that even if a compromise bill was forthcoming, any money to our schools would be some time off,” Brownell said. “With that in mind, the OISD suggested to legislators the ideas of an emergency lift of the school levy lid until such time full funding by the state was available or the use of transportation vehicle funds to be used for the general fund instead of buying a new bus and flexibility in the type of vehicles purchased.”
Other ideas were to extend remote and necessary funding to island districts with less than 1000 students and to allow application to “Free and Reduced Lunch” students twice a year, rather than the current single application period.
“All of these ideas would have immediate impact on the Orcas Schools and the legislators positively received all of the suggestions,” Brownell said.
