Volume 34, No.13
May 9 , 2008
Click here for a look at a list of education-related bills.
Last Chance: Education Budget MUST Pass
Final Legislative Day Slated May 19
With no room left for error, the education budget has one day left to pass. The Legislature is taking a one-week break, usually used to provide enough time for lawmakers to override a gubernatorial veto. But the Senate failed to consider the education budget this week, leaving only the final day to pass the education budget in time for K-12 personnel notice deadlines. If the Senate does not pass H.319, the education budget, on Monday, May 19, it will mean a special session.
Local school boards urge the Senate to move forward and pass the education budget! The public demands fiscal accountability from K-12 school systems, and school boards must have a budget to make responsible plans for the coming school year. Unless a budget is approved, many education employees fear their jobs are at risk. Because state law requires teachers to be notified by the end of the school year whether they will be rehired, boards are forced to give teachers pink slips at a time when they work hard to attract and retain quality teachers. Meanwhile, teachers unsure about being rehired will feel pressure to seek job security elsewhere.
While the proposed budget so far protects K-12 employees, it is not risk-free for FY’09. The budget, when approved by the Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee Tuesday, changed little. Committee Chairman Hank Sanders acknowledged the proposal is based on higher revenues than the Legislative Fiscal Office anticipates next year. Lawmakers relied on the higher revenue estimates to avoid making deeper cuts to education. Any shortfall will hit hard because ETF savings are being drained this year to keep schools from proration. The only recourse available in FY’09 will be to borrow from the Education Rainy Day Fund, a line-of-credit on the state’s oil and gas revenues that must be repaid. The budget proposal runs the risk of proration of the FY’09 budget because of its optimistic revenue assumptions.
Knowing that risk, it is simply irresponsible for higher education to continue its intense lobbying for $25 million to be tacked on to the bottom line. Universities want to keep the education budget hostage until the money is added to the budget. Already, $25 million has been added to the Governor’s original proposal in the House, and an additional $25 million is provided as a conditional appropriation. To date, higher education will not release its chokehold until it forces lawmakers to go well beyond revenue projections and possibly force
proration for next year. Proration hurts K-12 much more than universities because K-12 relies significantly more on ETF dollars for their operations.
The result would be dollars up-front for higher education and slashes in services for K-12 students. Local school boards urge the Senate to recognize the recklessness of higher education’s request. Urge the Senate to vote NO to higher education’s amendment and PASS the budget!
School Buses Face Steep Fuel Cost, $8 Million Conditional Wish
If any additional revenue becomes available beyond the FY’09 expectation, K-12 has an $8 million hole to fill for diesel fuel to keep the buses running. Lawmakers could not directly grant the additional funds, despite the documented need, because the revenues simply are not there for FY’09. It makes higher education’s demand for an imaginary $25 million that much more unreasonable. A laundry list of needs appear in the budget as conditional appropriations for public education entities. Any one of those needs could be justified as a direct appropriation if the funding was available. Pushing the budget beyond its means negatively impacts every public education entity.
Conditional appropriations only are granted should the state economy perform beyond expectations and funds become available. The budget’s first hurdle is to simply meet revenue projections and prevent proration. Only then would K-12 be eligible to seek its conditional appropriation to cover its fuel costs. An $8 million conditional appropriation is the only way to address the need based on the current budget proposal, but nothing school boards should bank on.
Budget Integrity Relies on H.350 Battle
The budget continues to rely on the passage of H.350, the bill addressing corporate tax loopholes. Without H.350, the education budget must be trimmed an additional $67 million. The House was able to pass a compromise and avoid making cuts. The Senate faces the same challenge as business interests work against H.350.
The controversy and delay surrounding H.350 has added pressure for lawmakers as higher education works to add $25 million to the budget bottom line. Should H.350 fail, however, ALL of public education would suffer from the $67 million ETF loss.
H.350 is linked to H.144, the bill to provide an additional state income tax deduction for small business employers and employees for health care costs.
Both bills need to pass to preserve the integrity of the education budget.
Critical Issues Unresolved
A number of key issues pending on the Senate calendar were not resolved this week. They will be in line to be addressed on the final legislative day, May 19.
H.274 - Grocery Tax Repeal – would propose a constitutional amendment which, if approved by voters, would exempt the sale of food from the state sales tax. Language is included that local governments may continue to levy sales taxes on food at the same rate collected for the local portion of the retail sales tax. Many local school systems rely on that local sales tax revenue.
The proposed amendment would offset the state’s revenue loss by eliminating the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes paid for individual taxpayers. The effort to bring up H.274 failed on a procedural vote Thursday by one vote. This issue may be in the mix of bills vying for passage Monday, May 19.
H.317 – School Nurse Law - would remove language to give school systems authority to employ licensed practical nurses (LPNs) under the supervision of registered nurses. Current law conflicts with how school systems provide nursing staff for student care. Local school boards urge lawmakers to update the school nurse law!
H.415 - Statement of Economic Interest
Threshold - would raise the income limit of a public official or public employee required to file a statement of economic interest with the state Ethics Commission from $50,000 to $75,000. The limit would increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index.
Bills Awaiting Governor’s Signature
H.442 - competitive bid law update would:
- increase the bid threshold from $7,500 to $15,000;
- make the bid bond requirement optional;
- exempt local school boards from bids when using certain joint purchase agreements;
- allow for life cycle costing in determining lowest responsible bidder; and
- allow school boards to award contracts to the second lowest responsible bidder if the lowest bidder defaults.
H.398 - alternative teaching certificate provisions would:
- allow the certificates to be granted for grades 6-12 (currently grades 9-12);
- focus eligibility on knowledge of the subject to be taught and align with No Child Left Behind requirements;
- extend the window for individuals to acquire their mandated teaching experience from 3 to 4 years; and
- increase the fee from $20 to $30 (the first increase in 17 years.)
School Start Date Proposal Threat Ends
H.179/S.241, bills proposing a statewide school start date window, no longer have a chance of passage during this legislative session. The school start date movement made progress this year when bills were approved by House and Senate committees. AASB stood strong in its opposition. New language floated as a “compromise” by various parties was not agreed upon by local school board members or AASB because the school start date premise itself is neither necessary nor appropriate. When local school board members conveyed their absolute opposition to any version of the bill, it stopped the bill’s momentum. Look for the issue to resurface early next year.
Additional Legislation Possible For Consideration May 19
H.54 - would require school boards to have a comprehensive safety plan for each school.
H.794 - would require that 75 percent of unanticipated and unappropriated revenues in the Education Trust Fund be deposited in the Proration Prevention Account (education savings account).
H.208/S.532 - would change the current “line of credit” limit of $248 million (set at 6 percent of the 2002 fiscal year budget) to a sliding scale set to 10 percent of the prior year’s budget. It also would expand the timeframe to pay back the loan from five to 10 years.
H.349 - a proposed constitutional amendment to remove the prohibition of administrative costs being assessed when future taxes are collected under Amendment 778, the 10-mill requirement. As a proposed constitutional amendment, H.349 does not require the governor’s signature, but must be approved by voters.
H.100 – a competitive bid bill supported by county commissions, would increase the local preference threshold from 3 to 5 percent. This bill does not conflict with H.442, the competitive bid law update awaiting the governor’s signature.
H.90 – would require local school boards to adopt a policy on student harassment as prescribed by a model to be drafted by the state Department of Education.
Property Reappraisals – Local school boards continue to oppose the effort to repeal annual reappraisals. AASB opposes any effort to link the repeal of annual reappraisals with the bill to repeal the food tax.
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On education funding and policy decisions,
local perspective can make a BIG difference.
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1 Day remains in the
Regular Legislative Session
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