[Factc] {Disarmed} Fw: News from Olympia - Week of April 22-April 25, 2019

Fri May 3 22:40:43 PDT 2019

________________________________
From: Jim Howe <jim.howe7 at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 3, 2019 10:20:15 PM
To: Howe, Jim
Subject: Re: News from Olympia - Week of April 22-April 25, 2019

Here's the latest analysis of the budget from AFT-Washington. Sounds wildly optimistic, but doesn't explain HOW the differential salary increases are to be paid. I'm also not clear on the tuition targets.

Jim

On Fri, May 3, 2019, 5:11 PM Sandra Toussaint, State Affiliate Political Officer <aftwashington at aftwa.org<mailto:aftwashington at aftwa.org>> wrote:
Session wrap up
[http://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/email_templates/logos/000/001/414/original/Legisletterbanner2011(1)(1).jpg]
May 3, 2019

That's a Wrap!

The session…finished….on time! Let me put this in perspective. The last time our legislature finished a budget year on time was a decade ago, in 2009. The legislature has only done this four times since 1981. Just four. It’s a pretty big deal. Especially when you consider all the bills they passed, and the strides towards a more progressive Washington they made. It’s very impressive, and we had a direct hand in getting this, probably the most efficient legislature in a long time.

As far as our legislative agenda goes, it’s overall a success. Even our efforts to get more funds in to our colleges paid off. In the last few weeks of session HB 2158 was introduced and passed! This bill creates the Workforce Education Investment (WEI) Fund. These funds are solely for workforce training, something we in the CTCs specialize in. This account will be funded through a graduated business and occupation tax, with companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, and other tech giants paying the lion’s share. The allocations break down like this:

  *   $162.7 million to fully fund the State Need Grant, now the Washington College Grant;
  *   $40.8 million for increasing nurse educator salaries at community and technical colleges;
  *   $20 million high-demand program faculty salaries at the community and technical colleges;
  *   $32.1 million for implementing Guided Pathways at the community and technical colleges;
  *   $17.1 million for new degrees and expanded enrollments in high-demand programs;
  *   $62.3 million for foundational support in community and technical colleges and public baccalaureates;
  *   $14.4 million for WSU medical school completion and expansion;
  *   $11.5 million for career connected learning initiatives;
  *   $2.3 million for student support services; and
  *   $2.0 million for the student loan refinancing program.

Overall, the budget, including appropriations made outside of the WEI, includes an increase of funding to CTCs by $327 million, 65% of our ask! Although the majority of those funds do not go to raising everyone’s salary like we requested, it’s still a significant investment that we were told wouldn’t happen, so it’s a win and a step in the right direction. We are beginning the planning process to continue the ROC over the next two years.

I-732 COLAs will be fully funded with a state allocation plus anticipated revenue from tuition and be paid out at a total of 6% over the next two years. This means that if the college meets their projected tuition, the COLA is fully funded. If a college does not meet their projected tuition, they will need to use other local funds to fully fund the COLA. There is also a 5% premium pay for all of our members that work in King County, also fully funded by the state.

The work you did to push the state to [Re]Invest in Our Colleges has paid off! We’re not done though, there’s still work to do. We’ve made significant strides, but we still have so many opportunities to gain a full investment in the CTCs, and all of public education. Get rested up, because our next step is getting strong advocates elected across the state. We have county and municipal elections coming up this year, and what do you think the legislature will do if a coalition of mayors, city councilmembers, and county councilmembers, are demanding the same thing as unions, businesses, administrators and students? I’d say that spells a win for us!

Check in with your local’s leadership and see what they plan to do to build power in your community, and reach out to me if you need some pointers!

________________________________

Roundup Of Our Legislative Priorities

Levy Lid Lift

With the passage of ESSB 5313, Washington’s K-12 school districts will see a major change in the revenue they can collect from voter-approved levies. Under the previous version, a levy capped at $1.50/$1,000 assessed value (AV) in new property taxes, or $2,500 per pupil, whichever is less. The new law changes that limit to $2.50/$1,000 AV or $2,500 per pupil, with an exception for districts with more than 40,000 students – they can set the per-pupil rate at $3,000. Again, this is the lesser of the two figures.

If voters approved a levy at an estimated tax rate of $2.50/$1,000 AV, the district would not have been able to collect the full amount voters approved. Because the legislature lifted the levy lid, a district could write a levy that asked for up to $2.50/$1,000 AV, and now they would be able to collect that levy at that rate. Previously, it would have been capped at the $1.50/$1,000 AV. What this means is more funding for school districts that successfully complete levies, which remain necessary means of funding K-12 education.

In addition to the levy lid being lifted, ESSB 5313 increased the amount available in the Local Effort Assistance (LEA), state funding that closes the gap for districts getting less than $1,500 per pupil with a levy rate of $1.50/$1,000 AV. The LEA does not apply to districts that are considered property-rich, and is intended to mitigate the effect that above-average property tax rates could have on the ability of school districts to successfully campaign for levies.

SEBB

Last year AFT Washington, in coalition with WEA, PSE, Teamsters, SEIU, and other unions, negotiated the new healthcare benefits for school employees. The challenge during the legislative session was to fund what had been bargained. Although there were numerous attempts by others to delay implementation, pare back benefits, or exempt some groups, the legislature funded the program as bargained. This will have a mostly positive impact on our K-12 and Head Start members, in particular reducing premiums for part-time staff. Unfortunately, it has unintended consequences for some of our Head Start members in that it wasn’t fully funded for grant-funded employees, leaving the district with a significant cost but no new revenue to cover it. We are working with the Local to minimize the harm of reductions-in-force.

ECEAP

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program makes preschool and support services available to many Washington families. Like most parts of our public education system, it is underfunded, making it difficult for providers to pay adequate wages and offer benefits. The per child reimbursement rate was increased by 6%, well below the 17% sought by the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP. Money was also invested to increase the number of children participating in the program. Increasing the reimbursement rate will continue to be a part of our legislative agenda in upcoming sessions.

We Did It!

[https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/data/000/281/064/original/58410159_443438086231110_3669422223809289793_n.jpg]1355 Signing selfie!

It’s been a tough but exciting session, and if nothing else, we can claim one big victory! Our counseling bill, ESHB 1355<https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/mpss/c/_AA/ni0YAA/t.2rb/04ftBKg9Rme4Lv6jU3GQuw/h0/zGi51mPI6iPAlPAW1caF2An2CehxLdxHbQhB1fYDx-2FuXW3sNLwJuAMDqAe55bQS4g7O65TPFJBG1wJ-2BbPPWw-2BEqOcRAqmd-2FJBAl3i5SnCq37N7J7znAapMtCgjgTGLtbP4RxfkUiTHilEks8fgwjYDpeYFq-2BHgPZgy9FFSjCKuGOxL4AsaMKXwZjDt-2BAGcoma7-2BwaHlF2GS0Kdms1dVlz9rXXDUJ9HHiQkFDJm8Y0urCCSI3NTXyk4o5U05jU98v20IlMLcX84PQcXTvRRT6Yk6JmE-2Fxq-2Fh6tJL6TNR-2FrbvxIroKkpif4XC5lhgtCcXjLVtCkA9tD5e8OPSGrJgmQrF5lCts1jUc07z2oLT77qI48qGi1G7pGZXpo18vqr8R>, was signed by the Governor yesterday! Our primary sponsor of the bill, Rep Lillian Ortiz-Self, had to do some last-minute fixing, but it was passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor. This bill will create a task force responsible for determining the best way forward to ensuring each college has the counselor support they need, to make sure our students can be as successful as possible. This is a big step forward in making our colleges better, and the first big step the state has taken to [Re]Invest in Our Colleges!

TFP

Unfortunately, one place we didn’t see success in this session was with the new mandated standards recommended by Barb Randall-Saleh and her team in last year’s legislative session. The new training will take four days to complete, and we wanted all four of those days to be funded by the state because no one should have to donate their time to get a necessary professional certification. The final budget proposal, however, only funds two days of paid training.

We appreciate everyone – and there were a lot of you! – who urged the House to change its position on this bill.

Labor More Generally

The Stand has its usual excellent round up of what passed and what didn’t, based on the Washington State Labor Council’s Legislative Report, which will be available at the end of May. You can see a sneak peek at what happened to many of Labor’s bills here<https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/mpss/c/_AA/ni0YAA/t.2rb/04ftBKg9Rme4Lv6jU3GQuw/h1/9t2ZDEd2-2FI-2B8rK96sjjSh7xcqaMgaMqY2F7nctOKQ7SWnWSHWXaxBIGhpo5EwWefhe6hnGCHmWs7mFeImcsP4CzE7gNH3tQ9mJYqGA7O24kgA7AoWvdLGX7pnzojUtaqYcAAKa7NSbDrrvcDHmBAn7KDRcFVl-2FLTGo-2B4f1f8QJLvrgfQKcy1BfjdxtpglR2L4kQuBbikhsoKrBxm7MRemEQUIQbIxW0gt6ql7Nt1xQ3fSrNEusq24-2FSpOSbjDpBNNMwT7lu57Dl9bT1CTavUiP58iCxQ-2FKWY4u7pCXkqXkBr44AjMpuN1QZGBnqpFae3yNSyDpbKZRjiCWjZp7I-2BFmjhRZpH5qRcJN2La1kd66mJQcPwYgJ3Jwx4RaWUwNQMcPh8BrakzdexZfm6eUDoR41ukW97if6c-2Bbh8ZjA07HVyen0mwSq-2ByqDIqT6s-2FNPJ>, and you can also arrange to get copies of the WSLC’s Legislative Report.

________________________________
[https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/data/000/095/250/original/cell_phone.jpg]New! Sign Up for Text Messaging to Get Our Alerts
You can get important text alerts from AFT Washington when you sign up for text message updates. Simply text AFTWA to 69238 on your cell phone. AFT Washington will never charge you for text alerts but your carrier’s message and data rates may apply.

Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000
Washington State Legislature Website: http://leg.wa.gov

________________________________

If you receive this through a friend or co-worker and are not subscribed to The Legisletter, please subscribe with your personal e-mail<https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/mpss/c/_AA/ni0YAA/t.2rb/04ftBKg9Rme4Lv6jU3GQuw/h2/WQ-2BlIwq7W2eCmkkcwbDiBbZZ8k6zBVQtuO7myuMWelmBnCD4Z1iwMY6BeSOD-2FyUt47jUgab5ZFax0-2Br4CfxnWddWAbC78-2Fl7AhIrp-2B6tjn2W-2FrLJ-2B9kxhbrl72-2BOwN-2BLY-2FiJWe0F0uorAA76CAB2gY5qtyff7mHhIEmy3DwL8JCfQJkeBBMeUULxVJf8mxAR8tuFFiXdk6Q4dP6kBFHSnK0qCqD3wiRn3u8tQ-2F2NZfHgXsm9Mz8-2Fm4DB99ng-2BfV6Y4XNf2oZD8i1ztFmZnJRSoj2jF5bHyu4YdBramPnysougZ-2BxrmsYJw6Nuc1wmQcl2fqMf68BuikMZtOy-2F7g2Ck5U1EcFKXwTnpPhCjM4-2BpWRYhDRM3GJwW6uzqQidKmjxZp68KtbGvaueRXF3wiyrjnCOlLdquTkNfG1il2sB14EJoXDMnosXlFyuf3Hvjh1DrboPVSsBL1xLI18BZBEbZaEHD-2FL3cU1Vf4TRAbypnquqO6RerUSQB-2BY50aquZD7R-2FMxhL67h3oENYokuLyQ6w-3D-3D>. We cannot send the Legisletter to your work e-mail. Using your work e-mail could violate ethics rules on the use of public equipment and resources.

Sent via ActionNetwork.org<https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/mpss/c/_AA/ni0YAA/t.2rb/04ftBKg9Rme4Lv6jU3GQuw/h3/55uI0ZjpoLA9-2FYhqE-2F4Eitwb7nFGaBM-2BttuyqSTdMS4-3D>. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from AFT Washington, please click here<https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/mpss/c/_AA/ni0YAA/t.2rb/04ftBKg9Rme4Lv6jU3GQuw/h4/WQ-2BlIwq7W2eCmkkcwbDiBfTpRTONPBIO8v6WfDIYEh8T9cJ0-2Bgckf8IuL-2BmartdiWDkniRMX7OfXLZ9Df6GCvRkW8vOpBcagTGJap9-2F7QoyEKclDEcDEsbB0pfs3J8aftNYMumPApkr7bRbqsY-2Bgv-2FKzWhYFUzbumVoYC2rf-2Bk6gV-2BnYNiA7NxHjd5jNVDjpaKoikraajx0-2FGaklAWGCnJNc-2BjMjrhYcyXKXqHbPZBI-3D>.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/factc_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20190504/e54e249e/attachment-0001.html>