PRESS RELEASE: State's Largest Parents' Association Applauds Inslee Education Budget

Tacoma, WA (December 15, 2016): After the release of Governor Jay Inslee’s education budget spending plan on Tuesday, Washington State PTA President Barbara Martin issued the following statement:

“Governor Inslee’s investments in K-12 education to support a high-quality teacher in every classroom and a skilled principal in every school are a great step forward in resolving the McCleary lawsuit. Funding to support beginning teachers, training and collaboration time, and market-rate salaries will help Washington attract and retain the professionals our students need to learn and succeed in our schools.”

Washington State PTA is an organization that is focused on the whole child – both the academic and non-academic needs of every student – Martin expressed excitement in some specific funding proposals:

“We are thrilled that this budget proposal recognizes the importance of social and emotional barriers to learning, with investments to support the health and well-being of our students. A crucial priority for Washington State PTA is to ensure adequate staffing of school counselors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and family engagement coordinators. This budget proposal funds these critical staffing positions.”

The Washington State PTA adopts a two-year legislative agenda in the fall, based on positions drafted and voted on by membership at a Legislative Assembly. The legislative agenda includes support for:  social and emotional learning, full funding of basic education, closing the opportunity gap, professional standards for para-educators, and funding for programs to increase breakfast participation in high-poverty schools.

“We applaud Governor Inslee for creating a bold plan to amply and equitably fund basic education for our more than one million students across the state, and are excited to partner with him and others to advance these budget proposals in the upcoming session,” said Martin.

About Washington State PTA: The Washington State PTA was founded in 1905 by Abby Williams Hill of Tacoma, an artist who saw the need for an organization to support Washington's children. Thanks to her leadership and vision—and over 132,000 current members who have carried her vision forward—Washington State PTA has been a leading voice for children in Washington for over 110 years. 

1304 S. Fawcett Avenue, Suite 300| Tacoma, WA 98402 | (253) 214-7410

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Governor Releases Education Budget, Asks for $3.9B in New K-12 Funding

Kicking off the 2017 budget proposals to resolve the “McCleary problem,” Governor Jay Inslee released his education and revenue budgets today, with a request for $3.9 billion in total spending over the two-year budget cycle. In a Monday preview, staff indicated that nearly two-thirds of the funding would boost compensation for all educators and add professional development for teachers and para-educators. 

At the top of the list is shifting the burden for compensation from local levies to the state. Inslee borrowed a page from the Technical Compensation Work Group that completed its recommendations in June 2012. The budget proposals start with increased salaries for beginning teachers, increasing the starting salary from $35,700 to $44,976 in FY18, and $54,587 in FY19. The salary bump would include 30 hours of professional development in the first year, and 80 hours of professional development in year two.

 

Also in the mix are:

•       Teacher and principal mentoring and alternative routes for teacher preparation.

•       Funding to close the opportunity gap, including investments in K-3 class size reduction; adding 1.0 FTE per prototypical school to support the addition of school counselors and nurses, social workers, psychologists, and family engagement coordinators; a $50 million increase to the Learning Assistance Program; truancy reduction; funding to support educational outcomes for students in foster care; and mentoring for struggling students.

•       Career-connected learning; $12.3 million for CTE MSOC; and additional funding for the highly capable students program. 

 

The revenue side of the equation

To fund his education budget, Governor Inslee is proposing a tax on professional services, instituting a capital gains tax on high-income gains that is estimated to affect about 30,000 individuals, and a carbon tax. Inslee rejected an increase in property tax, or a property tax “swap” that has been suggested by others. In fact, according to staff, under the proposed levy and local effort assistance reform plan, taxpayers in more than 100 school districts where the levy rate is above 24 percent would see their property taxes reduced.

 

Take it to the levy

With the significant infusion of state funding for basic education, Governor Inslee has proposed holding local levies for 2018 at current law plans, which would mean allowing the levy lid to roll back to 24 percent, maintain grandfathered districts at their rollback level, and eliminate ghost money in the levy base. In 2019, the proposal would decrease all school district levies to 15 percent, would eliminate grandfathering and would not include ghost money in the base. The annual per pupil inflator would be dramatically increased, to 16.35 in FY18, and 21.4 PPI in FY19, ostensibly to avoid significant impact and the levy cliff. 

Compensation phase-in

The education budget proposal would phase in the increases in compensation, based on the following chart:

In addition, the Salary Allocation Model (SAM) would be collapsed. The result would be:

•       Beginning educator: $54,587 with Bachelor’s degree; $58,954 with advanced degree       

•       2^nd tier certification: $65,504 with Bachelor’s degree; $70,745 with advanced degree

•       2^nd tier certification and 10 years of experience: $78,605 with Bachelor’s degree; $84,883 with advanced degree

For professional development, the Governor’s budget proposes 30 hours for FY18, and 80 hours for FY19, which are included within the salary amounts in the chart and SAM above. Professional development would be 50/50 self-directed and district-directed. On the self-directed, the training would need to focus on social and emotional learning, cultural competency, and closing the opportunity gap. The district-directed training would not be legislated, but the proposed two-year spending plan would eliminate about $5 million currently appropriated for teacher and principal evaluation training, so any TPEP-related training would come from the district-directed professional development. 

 

SPI-elect weighs in

In response to the Governor’s spending request, Superintendent of Public Instruction-elect Chris Reykdal, who joined Inslee for the announcement, said, “This is an outstanding budget for public education. It’s great for our kids, and is a solid plan forward. I’m excited to partner with Governor Inslee and the Legislature to fully, amply and equitably fund education.”

Links to budget information:

Budget highlights

Education highlights

Governor’s budget press conference

Marie Sullivan

WSPTA Legislative Consultant

LegConsultant@wastatepta.org

WSPTA Leadership Roundup: Week Ending 12/10

PT Avenue will be down for major maintenance on December 27^th and 28^th.

You will not be able to access PT Avenue during this time.

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INVOICES & MEMBERSHIP ROSTERS

December 9

Membership invoices are sent the 2^nd Friday each month to presidents, treasurers, and secretaries. Please take time between now and when the invoices are generated by the system to check your membership roster for duplicates and erroneous entries. Once a member has been included on an invoice, staff is unable to delete them from the database. As a result, your PTA will owe payment for that person, regardless whether that person is an active paid member or an erroneous entry.

Interested in saving volunteer hours? 

Consider offering potential and returning members the option to join your PTA online via PT Avenue. PTAs can also save time processing memberships you enter by opting in for monthly direct debit of dues payments to WSPTA.

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GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP CONTEST

December 15

Only one week left of the Give the Gift of Membership Contest - how is your PTA doing? To help promote the contest and your members, use the following promotional materials (also listed on the Membership webpage). Items include:

Flier to send home to parents/guardians: color | b & w
Social media posts: content | .png
Gift tags for bulletin board: color | b & w

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REFLECTIONS ENTRY FORM CLARIFICATION

It has been brought to our attention that there is need of clarification on the student entry form, in regard to the portion about the gender of the student submitter, where only M/F is offered. This question is considered optional and is not a requirement in order for a student's work to be qualified.

From National PTA:

"This year, we’ve advised PTA leaders, in our trainings and support, to use the open space to mark 'not indicated' or write in how the student identifies or simply leave the question blank. By no means should a student be disqualified for writing “other” in this space on the form as Male/Female isn’t a requirement to participate."

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Applications due 12/31

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GREAT WOLF LODGE RESERVATION CLARIFICATION

When making a reservation with Great Wolf Lodge, via telephone, please be sure to state the promotional code, rather than stating you are with PTA. By stating the code (or reserving online), it is the most foolproof way to avoid any issues.

Additionally, the offer may not be valid during holiday and blackout periods or combined with any other discount or offers. Additional charges may apply for themed and premium suites, weekends, and/or holidays.

Ask your PTA's leadership for promotion code - please do not share code with non-members or on social media.

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Click here for more information about the program.

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WSPTA CONTESTS, AWARDS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

March 1

Local PTA and Council Awards of Excellence

Does your PTA/council follow best practices? Does your PTA/council have a website or newsletter that you are proud of? Does your PTA/council have a program or event that is absolutely awesome? 

If the answer is yes, to any of the above, your PTA/council is encouraged to apply for all applicable Local PTA and Council Awards of Excellence. Learn more here.

Men's Essay Contest - Men Making a Difference 

This statewide essay contest explores the important contributions men make in the lives and education of children - from a children's perspective. Learn more here.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Question

One of our PTA members did not receive their membership card after we manually entered them into PT Avenue database. Can I resend their card?

Answer                                                                    

Thank you for your question! Thank you for making sure that your members are able to take advantage of all the benefits WSPTA has to offer. Yes, whomever is assigned to manage your PT Avenue account (typically membership chairs and presidents) are able to re-send a membership card.

Note: Before re-sending a membership card, please verify that the correct email address of the member is listed in PT Avenue. Also have the member check their spam or junk folders.

From the PT Avenue Guide (page 31): 

Want to save time from manual entering membership data? Set up the Online Join feature within PT Avenue (page 21 of the PT Avenue Guide).

Thank you for making sure your officers and members

have what they need; it is appreciated!

Kathryn Hobbs

Executive Director

Email your questions here.

WSPTA Leadership Roundup: Week Ending 12/3

WSPTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINATION RECOMMENDATIONS

December 2 - Deadline Extension

To nominate a qualified individual or to self-nominate, download the nomination form or to learn more about the positions, download the job description booklet.

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CALL FOR CONVENTION PRESENTERS

December 31

The WSPTA Leadership Committee is seeking presenters for the 104th WSPTA Annual Convention. If you are or know a great presenter with an applicable topic, complete the online form here.

Note: The primary audience for this presentation will be parents with children in Washington’s public education system. Presenters will not be compensated for classes or hotel parking. 

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WSPTA//GAME DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION

January 9 (Intent to Submit form due)

The WSPTA//Game Development Competition is a WSPTA STEM-based program that supports student success for students in grades 9-12. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students to use their creative talents by expressing themselves, either individually or in teams, by creating a computer game. Learn more here.

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REFLECTIONS UPDATE

Thank you to everyone that sent in Reflections theme entries. There were so many creative theme this year, it was hard to pick just five to send to National PTA!

Reflections entry deadlines are right around the corner. Many PTA/PTSAs have already submitted entries to their council and councils are hard at work prepping the winners to send to state. All entries must be received to the state office by January 20. Check with your council for deadline to submit to council-level. For PTAs not in a council, contact your region director.

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FOCUS DAY 2017

January 16 | Capitol Building | Olympia | Registration 

"Advocacy is not a one day event," 

Duncan Taylor, WSPTA Legislative Director

Everyday Advocacy

1. Make an appointment with your legislators.

2. Know WSPTA's legislative priorities.

3. Connect with other parents, teachers, and education advocates.

4. Make sure to leave it in writing.

Learn more about Focus Day 2017 here.

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ESSA DRAFT PLAN OUTREACH

February 13 - Deadline Extended

Shape your public education system for years to come by providing feedback on Washington’s ESSA draft Consolidated Plan, through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). WSPTA was involved in the draft process, and OSPI was one of hundreds of groups to contribute to the ESSA draft Consolidated Plan, alongside districts, legislators, education organizations, tribal leaders, and higher education institutions. Provide feedback here.

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WSPTA AS YOUR PTA'S REGISTERED AGENT

All nonprofit corporations have to interact with government agencies, most commonly the Washington Secretary of State's office and the Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

By designating WSPTA as your agent, your PTA gives those agencies one single point of contact when they need to get information to or from your PTA. It is not a requirement that WSPTA be your registered agent, but it is recommended. You may choose to have an individual named as your registered agent; however, by choosing WSPTA as your PTA's agent, your PTA won't have to worry about that person moving, taking a long vacation, or otherwise being unavailable to respond to a notice from one of the agencies.

For additional questions or clarification, please contact Tatia, Local PTA Support, in the state office.

If your PTA prefers to be its own registered agent, please verify the WSPTA office address is correct on all submission forms:

Washington State PTA

1304 South Fawcett Avenue | Suite 300

Tacoma, WA 98402

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PTA STORE 2017 PRODUCT IDEAS

Late January is when ShopPTA.com usually adds new merchandise, as well as discontinue a few items. If you have suggestions for a new product or something you feel would be useful to local PTAs, please share! Many of the best-selling items came to the PTA store as a simple suggestion. Share your idea and ShopPTA.com will research the feasibility of adding to the store.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Question

This is my first time as a treasurer and am curious if there is anything I need to be doing in the next two months – besides monthly maintenance – now that the 990 form has been submitted and the holidays are here?

Answer 

Thank you for your question and great job making sure your PTA’s 990 form was submitted by the 11/15 deadline. This is the time of year when it is strongly recommended to conduct a mid-year financial review (December-January). The review involves an examination of the financial transactions of the PTA, and the procedures used to conduct those transactions.

To conduct a seamless mid-year financial review, be sure to have the following materials available:

• Financial Review Checklist
• Financial Review Committee (the treasurer, although not a member of the review committee, is merely a resource for the review)
• All treasurer's reports for current fiscal year
• All bank statements for current fiscal year (should be signed monthly by non-signer on the account)
• All checks, deposit slips, receipts, invoices and all other record-keeping materials (checks may be accessed on bank website)
• Register listing all checks written and all deposits made
• Minutes of all board and membership meetings for current fiscal year
• Copies of all contracts and grants made or received

Source: Treasurer’s Handbook

ESSA Draft Consolidated Plan Outreach

Shape your public education system for years to come by providing feedback on Washington’s ESSA draft Consolidated Plan, through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Washington State PTA was involved in the draft process, and OSPI wants the viewpoints of their constituents well represented. OSPI was one of hundreds of groups to contribute to the ESSA draft Consolidated Plan, alongside districts, legislators, education organizations, tribal leaders, and higher education institutions.

The draft Consolidated Plan is complete and released for public comment until 11:59 p.m. on December 15th. Read about the plan and provide feedback here.

Social Emotional Benchmarks Report

Washington State PTA has worked on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) as a top legislative priority for several years*. During the 2015-17 biennium, SEL has been a top five priority. In June of 2015, the Legislature provided funding for a workgroup to develop Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks (SELB) for K-12 education based on the foundational work done in early learning. The workgroup began their work in October of 2015 and completed their work in September of 2016 resulting in recommended Washington State Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks. The report to the Legislature is the culmination of the work completed by the Social Emotional Learning Benchmarks Workgroup (SELB), containing background information, research, and recommendations regarding social emotional learning (SEL). Final recommendations consist of a statewide SEL Framework (guiding principles, standards, and benchmarks) for K-12 students, as well as actionable next steps to further develop SEL in Washington. 

We want to thank our PTA members who participated on the workgroup: issue submitter and lead, Sarah Butcher and PTA representative Sherry Krainick. Read the complete report here.

*During the 2016 Legislative Assembly, October 21-22, WSPTA delegates voted Social Emotional Learning as the first issue on the 2016-18 Top Five LegislativePlatform.

Newly Added Resolutions

Greetings fellow advocates of Washington State PTA. As you know, WSPTA recently voted on our short-term (two-year) platform for the upcoming two legislative sessions. We're excited that we have such a strong, whole child focused short-term platform to guide our discussions and activities in Olympia. 

However, WSPTA's membership also added three new items to our long-term platform, and we want to make sure you know both about these new items, and the long-term platform in general. 

In WSPTA's nomenclature, our long-term platform is composed of Resolutions, which remain on the platform until/unless amended or removed by vote of the membership (at either Legislative Assembly or Convention). 

While our short-term platform gets a lot of attention, it's imperative to remember that we are always looking for ways we can advance our long-term platform as well. Typically, Resolutions cover topics that take longer than a single two-year period to significantly move forward.  

By having Resolutions that remain part of our guidance for direct advocacy, WSPTA strengthens both our ability to advocate for children, and the perception of our strength as an organization by those policy-makers with whom we work year after year. 

So what are the three new additions to our Resolutions? First up is a resolution regarding sensory disorders, including (but not limited to) Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia,and Dyspraxia. This resolution offers guidance to WSPTA's long-term efforts to embody the philosophy that, when we say we advocate for all children, all means all. Creating and supporting inclusive classrooms that are well-suited for learners of all ability-levels is good for all of our children, and this resolution is built on that principle. 

Next, WSPTA passed a Washington-specific version of National PTA's resolution on Child Sex Trafficking. Sadly, Washington is a hotbed of activity for child sex traffickers because of both our state's geography, and our proximity to international borders. Supporting efforts to end this scourge is wholly aligned with the mission and vision of WSPTA, and this resolution gives us guidance on how we can participate in helping the children caught in this horrific practice. 

Finally, WSPTA passed a resolution regarding Mitigating Environmental Hazards and Contaminants in Schools. This resolution provides guidance as WSPTA leads and participates in discussions about ensuring environmental safety is a high priority in our schools, while acknowledging that practices and policies at the district and school levels need to be aligned with current best-practices. 

Of course, these three new resolutions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to WSPTA's long-term platform. We ask that you familiarize yourself with our standing Resolutions and keep them in mind as you have conversations in your homes, schools, and communities.  

As always, WSPTA's leadership is here to serve you. Never hesitate to reach out if there's something we can do to help. Your service to the children of the state of Washington is supremely appreciated!  

Note: An updated version of the resolutions will be posted soon.

Duncan Taylor  

WSPTA Legislative Director  

email

2016 Post Legislative Assembly Summary

Greetings Washington State PTA Advocates! Thank you to all those who attended and participated in this weekend's 38th Annual Legislative Assembly! It was an excellent time of leadership development, discussion and debate around the statewide advocacy goals Washington State PTA (WSPTA) would like to accomplish over the next two years, and ultimately a voting process that officially determined both our short-term platform, and updated our long-term platform.

Our short-term platform for the next two years will be:

Top Five

1. Social Emotional Learning*

2. Amply Fund Basic Education*

3. Closing the Opportunity Gap*

4. Standards for Para-educators* 

5. Breakfast after the Bell*

Issues Also Supported (listed alphabetically)

- Improving Educational Outcomes for Foster Children*
- Engaging Families in Student Success

- Post-Secondary Higher Education*
- Removing Barriers to Implementing ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program)

- Restorative Justice and School Safety

*2015-16 legislative issues 

In addition to the outstanding work, the delegates performed setting the overall platform and determining our Top 5 issues for the next two years, we also heard from National PTA's President-Elect, Jim Accomando. He spoke about the challenges that face PTA as an organization, and touched on the things he had learned from us during the course of the event. We also heard from Brian Jeffries of the Washington Roundtable, who spoke about the cradle-to-career efforts educators and employers are making to ensure that Washington state's high-school graduates have the credentials they need to achieve high-quality employment.

WSPTA was proud to award the 2016 Outstanding Advocate Award to Kent Area Council PTSA member and long-time PTA advocate Agda Burchard. Agda spoke about her experience being a PTA advocate, and how it spurred her to expand her advocacy efforts both as a volunteer and a professional. She was inspiring and gracious, and will carry the mantle of Outstanding Advocate exceedingly well over the coming year.

So, what's next? Well, we're in the midst of planning our 2017 Focus Day, taking place January 16 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – at the Capitol in Olympia. We need you to come, and be prepared, to meet with your legislators! We will have more information coming soon, so please stay tuned!

Now is your opportunity to take the experience you had at Legislative Assembly and use it to grow more advocates in your communities! As always, WSPTA's leadership is here to serve you. Never hesitate to reach out if there's something we can do to help. Your service to the children of the state of Washington is supremely appreciated!

For a summary of the event, follow the conversation on Facebook or #WSPTALegAssembly. 

Duncan Taylor

WSPTA Legislative Director

Contact Duncan

Supreme Court Announces Decision on McCleary Lawsuit

The Supreme Court announced yesterday that the State had failed to submit a complete plan for achieving full compliance with its constitutional duty to Washington students, and therefore ordered that it would not lift the $100,000 a day contempt sanction. However, the Court did not order additional penalties at this time.

The order was signed by 7 of the 9 justices, and was written by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen. Justice Wiggins issued a short concurring opinion about why he supported continuing the contempt sanction, while Justice McCloud disagreed with the majority and said the fine should be lifted. 

  

The Court said that “the State has until September 1, 2018, to fully implement its program of basic education, and that the remaining
details of that program, including funding sources and the necessary appropriations for the 2017-19 biennium, are to be in place by final adjournment of the 2017 legislative session.”

Here's the link to the 22-page order, concurrence, and dissent. 

http://www.courts.wa.gov/content/publicUpload/Supreme%20Court%20News/843627Order100616.pdf