WEA supports Senate education budget, opposes House budget proposal 2/22/2018
Washington Education Association President Kim Mead’s statement on the Senate and House Democratic supplemental budget proposals:“The Washington Supreme Court issued a clear order last November: To comply with the Court’s McCleary decision and the state Constitution, the Legislature must increase funding for K-12 educator salaries by around $1 billion before Sept. 1, 2018.
“Washington Education Association members expect our elected leaders in Olympia to comply with the Court’s order before the Legislature adjourns March 8.
“Fortunately, following Gov. Inslee’s lead, the Senate Democratic budget recognizes the need to fund competitive, professional educator salaries required by the Court’s contempt order. The state Constitution guarantees every child a quality basic education, and that includes caring, committed and qualified teachers and support professionals. As the Court said previously, there is nothing more basic than adequate pay.
“However, WEA does not support the House Democratic budget, which does not include the funding needed to finally deliver on the promise to Washington students to amply fund their education by the 2018-19 school year. Washington students should not be asked to wait yet another year for the state to fulfill its constitutional obligation to fund their education.
“Washington Education Association members call on House members to join their Senate colleagues and pass a supplemental budget that invests in the quality educators our state’s students deserve. The Senate budget acknowledges our well-documented shortage of teachers and support staff, and in a profession that is 75 percent women, it will begin to address gender pay inequities.
“Besides approving the additional state funding proposed by the Senate, we urge legislators to lift temporary salary restrictions scheduled for the 2018-19 school year. Restoring school district flexibility will allow local communities to compensate educators based on local student and school needs.”
Washington Education Association President Kim Mead’s statement on the Senate and House Democratic supplemental budget proposals:“The Washington Supreme Court issued a clear order last November: To comply with the Court’s McCleary decision and the state Constitution, the Legislature must increase funding for K-12 educator salaries by around $1 billion before Sept. 1, 2018.
“Washington Education Association members expect our elected leaders in Olympia to comply with the Court’s order before the Legislature adjourns March 8.
“Fortunately, following Gov. Inslee’s lead, the Senate Democratic budget recognizes the need to fund competitive, professional educator salaries required by the Court’s contempt order. The state Constitution guarantees every child a quality basic education, and that includes caring, committed and qualified teachers and support professionals. As the Court said previously, there is nothing more basic than adequate pay.
“However, WEA does not support the House Democratic budget, which does not include the funding needed to finally deliver on the promise to Washington students to amply fund their education by the 2018-19 school year. Washington students should not be asked to wait yet another year for the state to fulfill its constitutional obligation to fund their education.
“Washington Education Association members call on House members to join their Senate colleagues and pass a supplemental budget that invests in the quality educators our state’s students deserve. The Senate budget acknowledges our well-documented shortage of teachers and support staff, and in a profession that is 75 percent women, it will begin to address gender pay inequities.
“Besides approving the additional state funding proposed by the Senate, we urge legislators to lift temporary salary restrictions scheduled for the 2018-19 school year. Restoring school district flexibility will allow local communities to compensate educators based on local student and school needs.”
Senate passes bill to ‘fix’ McCleary funding plan; budgets due Tuesday
Sen. Christine Rolfes is the chief budget writer in the Senate. A budget is expected Tuesday.Watch WEA's new Facebook video adWednesday night the state Senate passed legislation to partially “fix” the McCleary funding plan the Legislature approved last year.
The bill passed along caucus lines with the Senate Democrats voting for the bill and the Senate Republicans voting against.
The bill is still a work in progress, but continues to improve as it moves through the process. This bill authorizes the early phase-in of educator salaries in school year 2018-19, one year earlier than planned, to comply with the most recent state Supreme Court order.
It also increases special education funding, provides a small fix to problems created by salary regionalization and adds a salary safety net for school districts whose educators have higher-than-average experience.
In a glaring omission, however, the bill doesn’t lift the cap on salary increases in the 2018-19 school year, which limits school districts’ ability to provide competitive and professional pay. Gov. Inslee recognized that problem in his budget plan and fixed it. The Senate did not.
This bill now moves to the House.
Sen. Christine Rolfes is the chief budget writer in the Senate. A budget is expected Tuesday.Watch WEA's new Facebook video adWednesday night the state Senate passed legislation to partially “fix” the McCleary funding plan the Legislature approved last year.
The bill passed along caucus lines with the Senate Democrats voting for the bill and the Senate Republicans voting against.
The bill is still a work in progress, but continues to improve as it moves through the process. This bill authorizes the early phase-in of educator salaries in school year 2018-19, one year earlier than planned, to comply with the most recent state Supreme Court order.
It also increases special education funding, provides a small fix to problems created by salary regionalization and adds a salary safety net for school districts whose educators have higher-than-average experience.
In a glaring omission, however, the bill doesn’t lift the cap on salary increases in the 2018-19 school year, which limits school districts’ ability to provide competitive and professional pay. Gov. Inslee recognized that problem in his budget plan and fixed it. The Senate did not.
This bill now moves to the House.
Week of February 5
Listen to our new radio ad, calling on the legislature to meet the court’s order and to fully fund education this year!
Vote yes for school levies and bonds
Tuesday is election day. If your district has any levy or bond measures on the ballot, please vote, and vote yes. Thanks to WEA members, levies only need 50% to pass, though bonds still require a 60% approval. When educators vote, we can often make the difference between a funding measure that passes or fails. Please vote and vote yes!
Monday was WEA-Retired Lobby Day
About 30 WEA-Retirees traveled to Olympia for their annual lobby day to talk with lawmakers about restoring the COLA for Plan 1 retirees and increasing state funding for retiree healthcare. They also lobbied legislators to support all of WEA’s 2018 Unity Agenda, which covers K-12, higher education, aspiring educators and students.
Email your legislators and urge them to support the Plan 1 COLA and retiree health care funding.
Unity Agenda: Community and Technical College bargaining bill passes the HouseA major step forward happened on Wednesday afternoon, when the state House approved HB 1237 with a bi-partisan majority. The bill will grant equal collective bargaining rights for community and technical college faculty, allowing them to negotiate pay with local funds. It was sponsored by retired teacher and union leader Rep. Mike Sells.
A Senate version of the bill, SSB 5993, passed out of Ways and Means earlier this week. With bills moving in each chamber, we have had the opportunity to educate and energize legislative support to get us over the finish line.
Unity Agenda: Retirees
On Tuesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee approved a bill that funds a 2 percent COLA on the first $25,000 of a pension for Plan 1 retirees. The House Appropriations Committee also passed a bill that says the Legislature intends to fund an increase to the minimum benefit for Plan 1 retirees. House Republicans tried to keep the COLA in the bill, but could not defeat the amendment to change this bill to an intent statement.
It represents progress to have these COLA bills moving, but they do not go far enough in meeting the needs of Plan 1 retirees, who haven’t received a COLA since 2010. They also don’t increase funding for retiree health benefits, although the final supplemental budget could. The bills could be voted on in the full Senate and House next week.
E4SHB 1827 passed off the House floor on Friday, with two significant changes. Rep. Manweller successfully worked to allow early retirees to continue to return to work as substitute teachers by eliminating a sunset date that had been in place. Rep. Doglio offered an amendment to extend the current return-to-work provisions so other early retirees can work as substitutes in non-administrative roles. This means that retired counselors, nurses, OT/PT, paraprofessionals, bus drivers and other school staff can serve as substitutes when needed.
Unity Agenda: K-12 funding SSB 6362 passed out of Senate Ways and Means. This revised bill makes changes to last year’s McCleary funding plan, such as increasing state funding for special education. The bill still fails on three major issues:
This bill is still a work in progress and is expected to undergo changes before it is voted off the Senate floor next week and sent over to the House. WEA urges legislators to make additional improvements to address the identified funding needs.
The capital funding bill SSB 6531 passed out of the Senate Ways and Means committee on Tuesday and has been moved to the Rules Committee. The main changes to the bill are with the phase-in schedule to prioritize additional square footage funded by the state for elementary schools first, followed by middle and high schools.
Unity Agenda: Students SB 5689 would not allow school-based officers to share information regarding citizenship with federal agents. It has moved to the Senate Rules Committee. It must be heard and passed on the Senate floor no later than Wednesday to remain alive.
Listen to our new radio ad, calling on the legislature to meet the court’s order and to fully fund education this year!
Vote yes for school levies and bonds
Tuesday is election day. If your district has any levy or bond measures on the ballot, please vote, and vote yes. Thanks to WEA members, levies only need 50% to pass, though bonds still require a 60% approval. When educators vote, we can often make the difference between a funding measure that passes or fails. Please vote and vote yes!
Monday was WEA-Retired Lobby Day
About 30 WEA-Retirees traveled to Olympia for their annual lobby day to talk with lawmakers about restoring the COLA for Plan 1 retirees and increasing state funding for retiree healthcare. They also lobbied legislators to support all of WEA’s 2018 Unity Agenda, which covers K-12, higher education, aspiring educators and students.
Email your legislators and urge them to support the Plan 1 COLA and retiree health care funding.
Unity Agenda: Community and Technical College bargaining bill passes the HouseA major step forward happened on Wednesday afternoon, when the state House approved HB 1237 with a bi-partisan majority. The bill will grant equal collective bargaining rights for community and technical college faculty, allowing them to negotiate pay with local funds. It was sponsored by retired teacher and union leader Rep. Mike Sells.
A Senate version of the bill, SSB 5993, passed out of Ways and Means earlier this week. With bills moving in each chamber, we have had the opportunity to educate and energize legislative support to get us over the finish line.
Unity Agenda: Retirees
On Tuesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee approved a bill that funds a 2 percent COLA on the first $25,000 of a pension for Plan 1 retirees. The House Appropriations Committee also passed a bill that says the Legislature intends to fund an increase to the minimum benefit for Plan 1 retirees. House Republicans tried to keep the COLA in the bill, but could not defeat the amendment to change this bill to an intent statement.
It represents progress to have these COLA bills moving, but they do not go far enough in meeting the needs of Plan 1 retirees, who haven’t received a COLA since 2010. They also don’t increase funding for retiree health benefits, although the final supplemental budget could. The bills could be voted on in the full Senate and House next week.
E4SHB 1827 passed off the House floor on Friday, with two significant changes. Rep. Manweller successfully worked to allow early retirees to continue to return to work as substitute teachers by eliminating a sunset date that had been in place. Rep. Doglio offered an amendment to extend the current return-to-work provisions so other early retirees can work as substitutes in non-administrative roles. This means that retired counselors, nurses, OT/PT, paraprofessionals, bus drivers and other school staff can serve as substitutes when needed.
Unity Agenda: K-12 funding SSB 6362 passed out of Senate Ways and Means. This revised bill makes changes to last year’s McCleary funding plan, such as increasing state funding for special education. The bill still fails on three major issues:
- Raising local levy capacity
- Address the salary funding needs of districts whose teachers have above-average experience and education
- Complying with the Washington Supreme Court’s recent order to significantly increase funding for K-12 salaries this year
This bill is still a work in progress and is expected to undergo changes before it is voted off the Senate floor next week and sent over to the House. WEA urges legislators to make additional improvements to address the identified funding needs.
The capital funding bill SSB 6531 passed out of the Senate Ways and Means committee on Tuesday and has been moved to the Rules Committee. The main changes to the bill are with the phase-in schedule to prioritize additional square footage funded by the state for elementary schools first, followed by middle and high schools.
Unity Agenda: Students SB 5689 would not allow school-based officers to share information regarding citizenship with federal agents. It has moved to the Senate Rules Committee. It must be heard and passed on the Senate floor no later than Wednesday to remain alive.
