As with others on the list, there is disagreement as to whether transportation would fall under the protection of the state constitution as a part of basic education. Superintendent Dorn believes that transportation is a part of basic education and thus could not be cut.
Washington's state schools chief, Randy Dorn, says there's one more consideration here: the state Constitution requires the state government to amply pay the costs of basic education, as defined by the state Legislature. Student transportation is part of the definition of basic education and although it's been a long time since the state has paid the entire cost of busing kids to school, that doesn't mean it shouldn't even try, he said.
A staff member form the Office of Financial Management believes otherwise.
Jim Crawford, an education number cruncher in the state Office of Financial Management, said the definition of basic education is open for debate.
"Because it's basic ed, doesn't mean it can't ever be touched under any circumstances," Crawford said, adding that the Legislature would have to adjust the definition to make way for many of the governor's ideas for cutting the state education budget.
Representative Hunter also weighs in on the issue with the words below. As Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, he will have influence on the choices that are made to reduce the budget gap.
Jim Crawford, an education number cruncher in the state Office of Financial Management, said the definition of basic education is open for debate.
"Because it's basic ed, doesn't mean it can't ever be touched under any circumstances," Crawford said, adding that the Legislature would have to adjust the definition to make way for many of the governor's ideas for cutting the state education budget.
I find it hard to believe that cutting transportation funding is a viable option for consideration, but I’ve been surprised before. Since I last posted about this topic, we have received more detailed information on what the Governor’s proposed cuts would mean to our school system. Below are the two big dollar items and one I have not yet identified.
Increase Class Size: The proposal is to reduce revenue for students in grades 4 -12 that would have the potential to raise class size in grades 4-6 from 27 to 29; grades 7-8 from 28.53 to 30.53; and grades 9-12 from 28.74 to 30.74. Vocational class sizes would also go up by 2 students. The potential revenue loss to our system would be $1,226,310.
Levy Equalization Reduction: In our system this is projected to be $787,621.
One of the potential cuts I have not talked about is reducing the monthly state allocation for health benefits from $768 to $745. This would amount to a revenue loss of $157,386 in our system and a cost that would be assumed directly by staff members.
You can find these and other impacts from the Governor’s proposed cuts on the state’s Office of Financial Management web page.
In closing this post, remember the importance of letting your legislators know how you feel about these potential reductions to our revenue the remainder of this year and next. We are being told that the majority of calls legislators are getting come from those concerned with cuts to social service agencies that provide support to the young, the elderly, and the poor. Other than WEA, they are not hearing from voters concerned with additional cuts to public education. If they only hear from the associations that represent us, it will be much easier for them to balance the budget gap with cuts to our revenue.
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