E-Wire Special Morning Budget and Omnibus SB 6552 Edition

Good morning folks!

The PTA was out in force today testifying on behalf of Senate Bills being heard in the House Education Committee.  Priority bills for us include the Omnibus School Hour and Credit Reform Bill and Pathways for Special Education Students.  Several PTA members were in attendance to testify including President Gillette, Director Krainick, and Bellevue Special Needs PTA VP Sarah Butcher.  There was an uncommon amount of give and take in the hearing between the very engaged legislators and the members of the public testifying.  As a result, this was one of the better hearings in House Education and worth your time to listen in to when you get the chance.  Links will be posted here (6552).

The second big ticket item of the day was the release of the Senate Budget.  Some of the Capital Budget directive language to OSPI for school construction looks pretty well thought out – this is likely due to the fact that buried in the budget bill is $78 million that was left unspent in the School Construction Assistance Program.  The reason for this is that there were fewer projects that qualified for grant funding than anticipated.

WSDDA’s Marie Sullivan has a great analysis which we are including here.  House Budget is expected to be delivered later this week with a hearing by the end of the week.

Read more about the Senate Budget here, here, and here.

Jump below to read testimony by our PTA leaders on the Omnibus Bill...

E-Wire for 2.21.2014 - The Calm Before The Storm

Congratulations:

If you are reading this, we have successfully survived 2/3rds of the legislative session.  At this moment, members are wrapping up last minute details and heading out of Olympia and going home for the weekend.  There, many of them will host town hall discussions with their constituents.  The WA PTA is urging members to take the time to show up to these affairs and chime in on issues involving education – specifically – our mission to fully fund basic education per the McCleary Lawsuit.  Don’t know where to find your town hall?  We got that covered.  Want to send them the message about McCleary?  We got that covered, too!

Today is a light day by legislative standards.  The past two days have been pretty busy with Senate Bills being heard in the House and vice versa.  Director Krainick was joined by several PTA members yesterday making sure our voices were heard.  Check the E-wire below for photos and further information.  While the E-Wire is holed up in an undisclosed location, the rest of the staff at the PTA are wrapping up the final touches for the move to our new offices in the Historic Ford Building on the corner of 13^th and Fawcett in downtown Tacoma.  The move will make it more convenient for members needing to come to the offices as it is more centrally located to I-5 and easier to find.  Just get off the freeway and head west a few blocks and boom – you’re there.  Pretty cool.

Tell legislators: THINK KIDS

Dear advocates,

Children are the heart of PTA work. Help them out by sending a valentine on their behalf. It will help keep children’s issues front and center as the House and Senate move bills off the floor February 13 and 14.

Sample message is included in Action Alert. TAKE ACTION.

If you like, ask your legislators to support a particular bill. See list, below.