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How to Spend I-728 Money
In November, the voters of Washington
approved Initiative 728, which will provide needed financial assistance
to school districts. This new money will come from the state’s
property tax (formerly collected locally and called the school
districts’ "regular levy"), unexpended state
"reserves", and the state lottery.
I-728 received nearly 72% voter support.
It passed in every county. In only two counties did it receive less than
60% "yes" vote. I-728 received more votes in Washington than
did President-elect Bush or Senator-elect Cantwell (by over
half-a-million each!); more votes than re-elected Governor Locke (by
over a quarter-million); and it even received more votes than State
Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson – who was running
unopposed!
I-728 began as a WSSDA legislative
proposal just over a year ago (returning the state property tax to a
local school district "regular levy"). Governor Locke amended
that proposal and made SB 6470/HB 2665 the centerpiece of his 2000
Legislative package. While those bills were not enacted, the 2000
Legislature did create a new Better Schools Fund – a scaled down
version of the WSSDA/Locke proposals. Supporters of I-728 watched, then
created their own – larger-yet-similar – proposal.
I-728 is complex, in part due to its
flexibility. Local districts may spend this money in several ways –
stressing class-size reduction.
WSSDA, in conjunction with WASA and AWSP,
recently asked the sponsors of I-728 to provide some assistance to local
school boards as they prepare to decide how best to spend this new
money. Procedures must be followed and decisions reported.
The following information is a result of
that request. It was written by I-728 supporters and sponsors as an aid
to you. It was written prior to the release of Governor Locke’s
2001-03 budget request, so some of the information is already slightly
dated.
WSSDA’s leadership provides this
information to assist local boards as you begin to plan for your
district budget meetings. This information is still evolving, and may
raise more questions. If so, please send those to me, as we are also
developing a "Question & Answer" page regarding I-728.
And please keep current with the daily
decisions of the 2001 State Legislature. Their decisions may affect
yours, as will your decisions surely affect theirs.
Dwayne Slate
Governmental Relations staff
December 29, 2000
"I-728 Drafters’ Guide to Success"
Major Statement of Support for Our Public Schools
Initiative 728 passed with an incredible margin of
victory: 72% statewide garnering more yes votes than any issue or
candidate in the history of the state. I-728 had landslide victories in
every single county in the state.
We need to honor this support by ensuring that we
understand I-728 and implement it as intended.
Specifically, it is important that school board members
and superintendents clearly understand:
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The financial aspects of I-728 – the new dollars
available and how the new funds will flow to districts;
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The uses of the new money;
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The processes for deciding on and reporting on the
uses of the new money.
The Financial Aspects of I-728
Sources of Funding
There are three sources of funding for the student
achievement fund: state property taxes, unrestricted lottery proceeds,
and any "spillover surplus" from the emergency reserve fund.
Of these three sources, the property tax money is
easiest to quantify since I-728 establishes the amount of money derived
from this source: $140 per FTE student for calendar years 2001, 2002 and
2003; $450 per FTE student for calendar year 2004; and $450 adjusted for
inflation per FTE student for all subsequent calendar years.
The unrestricted lottery proceeds available to the
student achievement fund are dependent upon lottery sales and therefore
cannot be predicted with total certainty. The following calculation
makes the relatively conservative assumption that unrestricted lottery
proceeds will total approximately $100 million annually. The
"potential range" figures show what may be available if
historical sales patterns prevail.
The third source of funding, "spillover
surplus" dollars from the emergency reserve fund, is the most
difficult to project since the availability of these dollars is
dependent on legislative actions which affect the I-601 spending cap and
the size of the Emergency Reserve Fund. The higher the cap, the less the
"spillover surplus". In an effort to be conservative, the
following calculation does not assume that any spillover dollars will be
available to the student achievement fund in the first five years.
Calculation of New Dollars Available Per FTE Student
| Source
of Money |
2001-2002 School Yr |
2002-2003
School Yr |
2003-2004
School Yr |
2004-2005 School Yr |
2005-2006
School Yr |
| State
property tax |
140-2101 |
140 |
2952 |
450 |
450+ inflation |
|
Lottery3
Conservative est.
Potential range
|
54
54-64 |
80
78-93 |
80
78-93 |
0
0 |
0
0 |
|
ERF Spillover
|
? |
? |
? |
? |
? |
|
TOTAL New Dollars
per
FTE Student |
94-274 |
220-233 |
375-388 |
450 |
450+ inflation |
1 I-728
drafters always intended that the per-FTE student dollars available for
the 2001-2002 school year would include $70 in property taxes collected
January – June 2001 plus $140 in property taxes collected July 2001
– June 2002. This interpretation is unfortunately not being
championed in Olympia. We are continuing to seek a favorable
resolution of this issue.
2 The per-FTE student dollars available for the
2003-2004 school year include $70 in property taxes collected
July-December 2003 plus $225 in property taxes collected January-June
2004.
3 50% of unrestricted lottery proceeds go to
the student achievement fund in Year 1, and 75% in Years 2 and 3. No
lottery proceeds go to the student achievement fund after Year 3; all
proceeds are dedicated to the education construction fund.
Flow of New Money
Funds from the student achievement fund are appropriated
by the legislature to the superintendent of public instruction for
distribution to school districts. The funds are distributed on a per FTE
student basis, beginning in the 2001-2002 school year.
Last year, the Legislature created and funded "The
Better Schools Program" with $ 57 million ($37 million for class
size reduction and $20 million for professional development). It should
be noted that the Better Schools Program closely parallels the language
of I-728. Governor Locke is committed to continued funding for
the Better Schools Program. Therefore class size reductions from the
Better Schools Program would become the baseline for I-728’s class
size reductions. The initiative’s non-supplanting provisions should
prevent the legislature from decreasing this Better Schools funding. The
Governor is committed to enforcing the non-supplant language and his
biennial budget includes 132 million for the Better Schools Program.
Uses of New Funds
Initiative 728 specifies that the new funds can be used
for the following purposes:
To reduce class sizes in grades K-4 by hiring
certificated elementary classroom teachers and paying non
employee-related costs associated with those new teachers;
To make selected class size reductions in grades 5-12,
such as high school writing classes;
To provide extended learning opportunities for
students in grades K-12, including but not limited to extended school
year, extended school day, before and after school programs, special
tutoring programs, weekend school programs, summer school, and all-day
kindergarten;
To provide additional professional development for
educators, including additional paid time for curriculum and lesson
redesign, training to ensure that instruction is aligned with state
standards and student needs, reimbursement for higher education costs
related to enhancing teaching skills and knowledge, and mentoring
programs to match teachers with skilled, master teachers.
To provide early assistance for children who need
pre-kindergarten support in order to be successful in school;
To provide improvements or additions to school
building facilities which are directly related to class size
reductions and extended learning opportunities.
In deciding on uses for the new funds, it is important
to remember that the initiative specifically precludes using the funds
for salary increases or additional compensation for existing teaching
duties. (The new funding may be used, however, for extended year and
extended day teacher contracts.)
Deciding on and Reporting on the Uses of the New Money
A central feature of I-728 is that it authorizes local
school boards to decide how the new funds should be used. The initiative
was built around the premise that school districts’ needs vary and
that local school boards know best how to use the new funds to assist
their students in meeting the state’s academic standards.
This flexibility and local control is supported by the
following process for obtaining public input:
Annually, school boards must hold a public hearing on
the proposed use of the new funds. This hearing must be held before May
1 and provide an opportunity for citizens to comment on the proposed
use. Comments may be provided orally at the hearing or in writing
prior to or at the hearing. The final plan for the use of the funds must
then be developed and adopted by August 31 as part of the district’s
normal budget process.
Accountability for the wise use of the new funds is
supported by the following process for reporting on the use of the
money:
Annually, each school district must provide a public
accounting of the new funds made available to the district during the
previous school year. This report should include a description of how
the funds were used and the progress made in increasing student
achievement, as measured by all required state assessments and any other
assessments chosen by the district. Copies of this report must be
provided to the superintendent of public instruction and to the academic
achievement and accountability commission.
PLEASE DO:
1. Think about the success stories in student
achievement that you want to tell next year and the years thereafter
based on your use of I-728 money.
2. Do include all stakeholders when you do that
visioning.
3. Do thank the parents and people in your community
who worked hard to get I-728 on the ballot and who worked to get it
passed.
4. Realize that this is the biggest and best
opportunity that you are going to have in a long time to enhance
student achievement.
5. Do try and figure out what your voters told you.
There are expectations about K-4 class size reduction.
6. Try and honor those expectations.
7. Also try and target the money sufficiently so that
it will have the desired impacts while being conscious that the money
should broadly visible.
8. Think about and be visible with your success
stories. We want the education community and the public to see the
connection between the Student Achievement Fund and succeeding with
the Reform Act.
PLEASE DO NOT:
1. Make decisions about spending I-728 money before
you’ve spent time listening your parents and other key stakeholders.
2. Do not use 728 money to "back-fill.
3. Do not use 728 money to supplant what you are
already doing.
4. Do not break faith with your voters.
5. Do not use 728 money for salary increases or
additional compensation for existing duties.
6. Do not lose sight of the success stories you want
to be telling down the road.
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