Yes, I know it’s Tuesday. This Friday-ish report took a three day weekend. Hope yours was great.
The Sine that Won’t Die: The Legislature finally closed up shop last Wednesday. Session was gaveled to a close “Sine Die” – which is Latin for “until we meet again,” or something like that. The special session closed out the remaining pieces of work, most notably, the budget. Legislators cut teacher salaries by 1.9%, with principals and administrators taking a 3% cut – which will prove difficult for districts to execute, given that they have multi-year contracts that would have to be renegotiated. The complex cuts in the education budget received low marks from the Seattle Times, which rightly pointed out that cuts to pay will more likely be cuts to program, school days or services.
For a fuller view of the education budget, check out our budget analysis here
The Budget and Policy Center did a nice piece on how the $5B was filled almost entirely by cuts, with almost no discussion of revenue. HB 2078, which would have closed a tax exemption for out of state banks failed to pass the house, even though it received a majority of the votes. Owing to initiative 1053, the rules stipulated that the a 2/3 majority was needed. Your intrepid writer co-authored an Op-Ed in the Seattle Times with Mary Lindquist, President of the Washington Education Association supporting 2078.
No Bricks, No Mortar, No Problem: The Western Governor’s University – a non-profit, on-line university – got itself noticed last week when they hired Bellevue College’s Jean Floten to be the WGU Washington Chancellor. Floten is highly regarded for her work at Bellevue, making it an early adapter of on-line learning and moving what was Bellevue Community College into the world of four year degrees in some fields. WGU-W will be a good addition for community college transfers – Floten is signing a transfer agreement as one of her first official acts.
So Sue Me: In case you missed it, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the state must put an additional $500,000 into the state’s poorest performing school districts. After much squawking, Governor Christie has agreed to comply with the ruling. The L.A. Times opined that public education must remain free – and when you add up all the expenses pushed off onto families, it isn’t even close. Here in Washington, we have a funding lawsuit, McLeary vs. State, winding its way through the Supreme Court as well. On Friday, the League of Education Voters Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of the suit. In it, we argue, among other things, that since the trial court ruled in February, the legislature has made significant, additional cuts to education – this after the judge ruled that the 2007/08 school years were underfunded. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the appeal on June 28th, 2011 at 1:30.
St. Elsewhere: For more news on education policy in other states, check out this handy report in Ed Week. The “Last in First out” (LIFO) issue continues to get ink and airtime. Significant cuts to Pell grants make it even more likely that our best colleges are for the elite. If you’re wondering how the School Improvement Grants (SIG) were allocated, check out this clever, interactive tool from Ed Sector. And if you just can’t get yourself enough SIG-related news, you’ll want to read this report on implementation of SIG funds.
Go get your short week on.
