| Washington State Agencies by Functional Area |
K-12 EDUCATION
State Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Other Education: State School for the Blind, State School for the Deaf, Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board, State Library, Washington State Arts Commission, Washington State Historical Society, Eastern Washington State Historical Society.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Higher Education Coordinating Board, University of Washington, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, The Evergreen State College, Joint Center for Higher Education, Western Washington University, Community/Technical College System.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
OTHER HUMAN SERVICES
Washington State Health Care Authority, Human Rights Commission, Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, Department of Labor and Industries, Indeterminate Sentence Review Board, Health Care Policy Board, Department of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Services for the Blind, Sentencing Guidelines Commission, Employment Security Department.
GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
Office of the Governor, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Public Disclosure Commission, Office of the Secretary of State, Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, Commission on Asian-Pacific American Affairs, Office of State Treasurer, Office of State Auditor, Commission on Salaries of Elected Officials, Office of Attorney General, Department of Financial Institutions, Community, Trade and Economic Development, Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, Office of Financial Management, Office of Administrative Hearings, Department of Personnel, State Capitol Committee, Deferred Compensation Committee, State Lottery Commission, Washington State Gambling Commission, Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Washington State Commission on African-American Affairs, Personnel Appeals Board, Department of Retirement Systems, State Investment Board, Department of Revenue, Board of Tax Appeals, Municipal Research Council, Uniform Legislation Commission, Office of Minority and Women's Business, Department of General Administration, Department of Information Services, Office of the Insurance Commissioner, State Board of Accountancy, Forensic Investigation Council, Washington Horse Racing Commission, Liquor Control Board, Utilities and Transportation Commission, Board for Volunteer Firefighters, Military Department, Public Employment Relations Commission, Growth Management Hearings Board, State Convention and Trade Center.
Legislative: House of Representatives, Senate, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, Legislative Transportation Committee, Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program Committee, Office of State Actuary, Joint Legislative Systems Committee, Statute Law Committee.
Judicial: Supreme Court, State Law Library, Court of Appeals, Commission on Judicial Conduct, Office of Administrator for Courts, Office of Public Defense.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND RECREATION
Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Office of Marine Safety, Columbia River Gorge Commission, Washington Pollution Liability Insurance Program, State Parks and Recreation Commission, Interagency Commission for Outdoor Recreation, Environmental Hearings Office, State Conservation Commission.
TRANSPORTATION
Board of Pilotage Commissioners, Washington State Patrol, Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Department of Licensing, Department of Transportation, County Road Administration Board, Transportation Improvement Board, Marine Employees' Commission, Transportation Commission.
|
K-12 Education |
Governor's 1997-99 proposal | |||
Net change from 1995-97 | |||
Percent change from 1995-97 |
U
NDER THE GOVERNOR'S operating budget proposal, General
Fund-State (GF-S) support for public schools would increase by
$699 million, an 8.4 percent change from the current biennium.
His proposal fully funds enrollment growth, inflation, and salary cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in basic education programs. The Governor's budget would increase support for education reform, technology in schools, and programs that promote children's health, and readiness to learn. Proposed increases are partially offset by reductions in discretionary funds and formula adjustments that
better reflect actual costs for school districts.
In addition, the Governor is proposing state funding for levy equalization and a constitutional amendment to eliminate the 60 percent supermajority requirement for voter approval of local school levies. Finally, the Governor recommends state funds to replace the loss of $17 million in federal funds for child nutrition programs.
Key Proposals
Funding for Student Learning Improvement Grants (SLIG) is provided at the current rate of $36.69 per student. This requires $69.8 million for the 1997-99 Biennium, an increase of $2.7 million from the current biennium. SLIG grants support planning and training time at each school building to allow school staff to become knowledgeable about new learning standards and prepare for full implementation of student assessments by the year 2001.
The budget also provides $400,000 to study whether state funding for high school students should be changed in light of such developments as education reform, the proposed certificate of mastery graduation requirement, greater integration of academic and vocational instruction, the growth of Running Start (high school students in college courses), growth of alternative programs, and growing use of computers and telecommunications as instructional tools.
Funding for community truancy boards is moved from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to OSPI. The Governor's budget provides school districts with $1.0 million in grants per year to establish community truancy boards to deal with truant students. The Governor's budget also provides $2.0 million in grants to help more districts start up alternative school programs for children with truancy problems and those not well-served in the traditional curriculum. The $2.0 million provided in the current biennium funded only a small percentage of the qualified grant applicants.
Funding for the primary intervention program is also moved from the DSHS budget to OSPI. The $1.9 million allocated for this program will be used to identify and help elementary school children with emotional problems due to abuse, neglect, or other family related problems.
This legislation calls for increasing the state levy equalization from 10 percent of a district's state and federal revenues in 1997, to 11 percent in 1998 and 12 percent in 1999. These increases would benefit districts with above-average tax rates due to low assessed property values. Although the full cost of the increases is $17.5 million, two other proposed changes partially offset this amount. First, the inflation factor applied to the levy base is reduced and, second, the state enrichment funding for small schools is deducted from a district's levy equalization eligibility. The same legislation also restores the 4 percent levy authority which lapses in 1998 under current law. This change has no state fiscal impact, but allows school districts to collect an estimated $90 million more per year in voter-approved local levies.
In addition, the Governor is proposing a constitutional amendment to make it easier for school districts to gain local levy support from district residents. The amendment would change the voter approval requirement for school levies from a 60 percent to 50 percent "Yes" vote. This amendment would be placed on the November 1997 ballot. The Governor's budget assumes passage of the amendment and provides $737,000 in Fiscal Year 1999 for levy equalization to accommodate the anticipated increase in school levy approvals.
In addition, the Governor proposes changing the salary weighting factor (staff mix factor) for basic and special education programs to include both basic and special education program staff. When special education funding changed in 1995, the basic education staff mix factor (experience and training) was used to fund both basic and special education programs. Averaging the mix factors will more accurately recognize actual district staffing costs in the funding formula. Assumed state savings of $11.1 million are based on the fact that, on average, special education staff have fewer years of experience than basic education staff.
Finally, the Governor is proposing legislation to strengthen OSPI's ability to recapture state money paid to districts based on erroneous or undocumented data as discovered by the State Auditor's Office. Increased audit recoveries and stricter enforcement of state reporting policies is estimated to save the state $5.0 million during the coming biennium.
| Higher Education |
Governor's 1997-99 proposal | $2,197.9 million | $5,322.3 million | 38,511.9 | ||
Net change from 1995-97 | $230.9 million | $357.0 million | 809.4 | ||
Percent change from 1995-97 | 11.7% | 7.2% | 2.1% |
T
HE GOVERNOR'S HIGHER EDUCATION proposal for the 1997-99 Biennium
increase General Fund-State (GF-S) and tuition fund support by
$298.9 million. The recommended increase reflects the commitment
of the Governor to expand higher education opportunities. Funds
are provided to increase higher education enrollment and make improvements to the quality of learning and instruction.
The budget for higher education sustains the funding allocated for expanded enrollment in the 1995-97 Biennium and adds funds to support over 4,500 new students. As part of his effort to sustain current enrollment levels, the Governor proposes to continue the Employment and Training Trust Account and the Unemployed Worker program, thereby providing retraining for 7,200 students in the community and technical colleges. Significant increases are proposed for financial aid programs and work study. In addition, the Governor recommends the creation of a pre-paid tuition program to help families save for the higher education, while also proposing equitable and predictable tuition rates that are based on per capita personal income. The Governor's budget also invests in technology needed for effective instruction, and provides salary increases for faculty and staff to meet the rising cost of living and other demands.
Key Proposals
The state work study program promotes part-time employment as a means for needy students to help finance their college education, gain useful work experience, and exposure to career options. Approximately 8,900 students currently participate in the program. From the 1995-97 level of $26.6 million, the Governor's budget recommends a 20 percent increase of $5 million for a total of $31.6 million. This change adds about 1,000 new work study jobs to the program and increases the share of student financial need met through work study from 4 to 5 percent.