House panel releases budget recommendations for education

Committee leaders call for more than $1 billion in investments for state schools

February 26, 2007

February 1, 2007
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OLYMPIA – The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education today released budget recommendations that committee leaders say will help prepare children for kindergarten, recruit and retain good teachers, and help more families send their kids to college.

The newly created Subcommittee spent several weeks reviewing Governor Gregoire’s budget proposal and hosting work sessions with stakeholders and community members. Their budget recommendations follow a 5-point plan to:

give every child an early start,

fund basic education,

put an outstanding teacher in every classroom,

help every child succeed and graduate on time, and

give students a strong finish by providing more opportunities to continue their education after high school.

"Never before have we been able to create a budget with so much involvement from stakeholders and the public. The folks in the classrooms and on-the-ground really helped us understand how we can drive resources to the programs make the most difference for our teachers and students,” said Rep. Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton), chair of the Subcommittee.

Rep. Joe McDermott (D-West Seattle), Education Policy Leader for the House Democrats, said the budget process this year represents a special commitment to education.

“Education is fundamental to everything we do as state, that’s why it is the top priority for our caucus,” he said “This year we’ve taken a unique approach by not only having a leadership position responsible for education policy, but also creating an Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.”

Highlights of the education budget recommendations include:

Start early

$27.0 million to put 2,000 more children into the Early Childhood Education Assistance Program and increase the funding for each slot by 16%.

$7.5 million to improve child care in Washington State through a rating system and professional support for licensed day care providers.

$1.1 million to expand home visitation services and support to 150 families per year.

Fund basic education

$60.4 million for school districts with high concentrations of students in special education.

$30.3 million to hire 216 new teachers and reduce classroom overcrowding.

$25 million to help school districts offset the costs of student transportation and create a new funding formula for the state’s contribution to school transportation.

Help every student succeed and graduate on time

$238 million to fully fund I-728, the initiative to reduce class sizes.

$51.1 million for all-day kindergarten in schools with the highest poverty levels.

$68.5 million for math and science grants, math and science coaches, and 750 new math and science teachers.

Put an outstanding teacher in every classroom

$350 million to fully fund I-732, the initiative to provide COLAs to teachers

$50.0 million to address differences in staff pay among school districts.

$7.4 million to increase annual teacher bonuses and provide incentives for teaching in high poverty schools.

Finish strong

$35.6 million to increase state need grants and continue the opportunity grant program.

$37.9 million to expand enrollment in math and science programs as well as provide 500 scholarships for math and science students.

$61.5 million to support more than 5,100 new enrollments in the state’s two- and four-year colleges as well as 2,105 enrollments in high-demand fields such as education and IT.

There will be a public hearing tonight on the budget recommendations which will then move to the House Appropriations Committee.

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House panel releases budget recommendations for education

Committee leaders call for more than $1 billion in investments for state schools

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