Update on Budget Cuts – and Outlook for out Top Priorities

Dear advocates,

The first two weeks of legislative session were hectic. In addition to the hearings, there were key meetings of the Quality Education Council and the State Board of Education, as well as ongoing meetings of the steering committee for the Teacher/Principal Evaluation Pilot. Budget hearings and money (or lack of) is coloring everything. PTA/PTSA members need to understand there are 2 budget issues.

1. The supplemental budgets: Note the plural. The legislature still must cut hundreds of millions from CURRENT YEAR spending (money the state can spend from now until July). A bill (HB 1096) for a third round of cuts is working its way through the legislature, it includes retroactive cuts to school districts. Highlights:
   

REFORM-EVALUATIONS, SB 6696:

Hi advocates,

More food for thought (and not revenue, this time) … Wash State PTA is part of the state’s Teacher/Principal Evaluation Pilot oversight committee. At the committee’s last meeting, the Measure of Effective Teaching project was cited. I found the project’s website site interesting and thought you might as well. I particularly like that it looks at the substantive nature of teaching – not just test scores.
-
Here is the general website:
http://www.metproject.org/
-
Here is a “white paper” on the project:
http://www.metproject.org/downloads/met-framing-paper.pdf
-
Here is a brief explanation of the project:

“Current measures of teaching rarely take into account the full range of what teachers do, or the context in which they teach. The Measures of Effective Teaching project is different. It's informed by the real work of real teachers in real classrooms. It goes beyond the exclusive use of student assessments as a proxy for effectiveness and, instead, is geared to developing a set of measures that together serve as an accurate indicator of a teacher's impact on student achievement.”

---

Improving evaluations is a key part of Senate bill 6696, and implementing recent reform legislation is our No. 1 priority. (HB 2261 – basic ed funding, including new program for basic education; HB 2776 - phase in 2261;  HB 6696 – accountability; evaluations; parent/community involvement).

Our state evaluation pilots are still in the early stages, but some intense conversations are happening. As I learn more, I’ll share where the pilots are with this critical work.

Ramona Hattendor

ADVOCATES TAKE AIM WITH TAX BREAKS:

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/print-edition/2011/01/07/advocatestake-aim-at-tax-breaks.html

Hi advocates,

The revenue coalition we worked alongside with on I-1098 is working on tax exemptions this session. I will be putting together a policy paper on this for our association’s board members (they meet later this month).

We don’t have a position on tax reform, but given our newest resolution on revenue (we should consider revenue increases that support our funding priorities) I wanted to share some information with you. The revenue coalition is basically saying given the extreme cuts we’re seeing, we should look at closing some tax loopholes. (There has been a petition circulating.) The other side equates ending exemptions to increasing business taxes at a bad time.

Again, food for thought as we go into a tough session that will have long-term consequences for our state.

Ramona Hattendor