Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 14, 1999
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke signs historic budget for kids, education

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke signed the 1999-01 state operating budget today, saying, "This is truly the education budget. It represents the largest investment in kids and education in our state's history."

The $20.6 billion budget approved for the next two years:

- Adds nearly $1 billion for education.
Holds the growth of overall state spending to the lowest level in 30 years.
- Spends $75 million less than permitted by the Initiative 601 expenditure limit.
- Retains a $688 million reserve.

"This budget guides Washington into the 21st century and accomplishes my goal of making student achievement and better schools the highest priority," Locke said. "It also expands affordable health care programs for children and working families. And it requires no new taxes and maintains a responsible reserve."

The governor thanked the legislature for its bipartisan support in working with him to "achieve Washington's promise," including schools that help every child succeed, greater access to quality college education, improved school and community safety, use of welfare savings for education and employment programs, and new programs to boost rural economies.

"I am particularly proud of the Washington's Promise Scholarship program, which will provide $3,000 scholarships to more than 4,200 high school students in middle-income families," Locke said. "Starting with this year's graduating seniors, these scholarships will be available to high-achieving students in the top 10 percent of high school senior classes. In the next school year, seniors in the top 15 percent will be eligible."

The K-12 education-funding package provides for more than 900 new teachers. To help attract and keep the best and brightest teachers, it provides a 17 percent pay increase for first-year teachers and a 16 percent increase, on average, for early-career teachers. Mid-career teachers will see a 14 percent increase over the next two years, while senior teachers will get 10 percent more.

"At the same time, this budget will provide more help for struggling students through the Reading Corps, expanding learning assistance, and adding training for math teachers," the governor said. "These programs will provide intensive instruction and tutoring for students struggling to develop the reading and math skills they will need to succeed in the next century."

Locke credited the legislature for recognizing the necessity of a college education in getting a good job in today's economy. The budget improves access to state colleges and universities by expanding enrollment by 8,300 students, including 500 slots for students preparing for jobs in high-demand fields. And it supports the K-20 telecommunications network, building new capacity to offer college courses for credit on the Internet.

"I wanted a budget that protects families, and the legislature delivered," the governor said. "This budget expands subsidized health coverage for children, making about 10,000 additional kids eligible for this protection. It increases enrollment in the Basic Health Plan for working families to 133,000 in the next biennium.

The budget also provides additional housing assistance for homeless families, expands long-term care options for elders, and establishes a $100 million endowment, using tobacco settlement funds, to support public health efforts to help Washington people — particularly teenagers — quit smoking.

Locke said the budget's economic vitality package envisions "one Washington" where all parts of the state benefit from Washington's strong economy. It provides tax credits to encourage economic growth in rural areas, funds new grant programs to build infrastructure essential to economic development in rural communities, advances research to improve agricultural products, adds housing for farmworkers and helps sustain rural hospitals.

"We're going to add more than $100 million in the next biennium for programs to keep communities safe from crime and drugs," Locke said. "This budget strengthens supervision of 50,000 convicted felons released from prison or jail. It restores juvenile parole and fields a new State Patrol unit that will crack down on a growing number of methamphetamine laboratories across the state."

The new budget treats publicly funded employees fairly, providing 3 percent-a-year pay raises to state workers while meeting the rising costs of their health benefits. Pay increases are bigger for jobs where salaries have fallen too far behind market rates. Wage disparity affecting part-time community college faculty is addressed, and new funding for four-year college faculty recruitment and retention is included.

Locke said welfare savings of $246 million and the national tobacco settlement, which includes $165 million for Washington in the next biennium, helped build the budget. But he added that hard decisions still had to be made, including $195 million in cuts and other reductions.

Locke also approved a $71.9 million supplemental budget that covers unexpected costs in the current fiscal year. The 1999-01 biennial budgets takes effect July 1.

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