Budget and Finance Meeting Notes (June 22, 2009)
At our meeting on June 18th, the Budget and Finance Team developed a two part work plan:
REVENUE FOR EDUCATION:
MONITOR THE WORK OF TAX INITIATIVE COALITION: An ad hoc coalition of organizations and individuals informally called the Burbank/Gates Sr. group, have been meeting to discuss tax reform initiative possibilities. The group has reached some consensus on an income tax and will be conducting polling to determine if an initiative would be viable on the 2010 ballot. Earlier polling has indicated the public’s willingness to increase taxes for education and so the discussion of the group has, to date, suggested that public education might be the focus of any new revenue generated by the initiative. The group intends to make its decision by the end of 2009.
Rather than proposing new revenue packages ourselves, the Budget and Finance Team will be monitoring the work of the coalition who has the resources to fund polling and potentially the funding and campaign expertise necessary for such an initiative. The League of Education Voters and WEA are both part of the coalition and are also represented on the Budget and Finance Team and will report out at Team meetings.
FUNDING FOR EDUCATION:
CONDUCT WESTSOUND SCHOOL DISTRICT FOCUS GROUPS ON THE PROTOTYPE SCHOOLS FUNDING MODEL: HB 2261 outlines a prototype schools funding model that changes the traditional school funding formulas and bases the instead, on minimum staffing and non-staff costs to operate schools of a particular size and with particular types and grades of students. See pages 5-7 of House Bill Report at link below:
The Budget and Finance Team wants to test out the practical realities of the prototype funding model by havin informal focus group teams from school districts consider the model and provide feedback that legislators/policymakers can use to make adjustments while the prototype model is still being fully developed. We propose three such meetings:
1. Larry Seaquist will request that Ben Rarick from the House Operating Budget Staff meet with our Budget and Finance Team. Ben is responsible for costing out the prototype funding model. The Team wants to hear how the components are being costed out and what the legislative process/timeline will be to implement the model. The Budget and Finance Team will comprise the first informal focus group.
2. August: Teams of administrators, school board members, union representation and building principals from 5-6 Westsound school districts will meet to review and provide feedback about the components of the prototype school funding model.
3. September: Crossroads will review and provide feedback about the components of the model.
The next meeting of the Budget and Finance Team will be scheduled once we have potential meeting dates with Ben Rarick.
Ann Randall,
WEA Olympic Council – Budget And Finance Team Leader