Governor Releases Revised Budget for Current Fiscal Year

Posted on by

This morning Governor Gregoire released a supplemental FY11 operating and capital budget to meet the estimated $400 million shortfall that remains in the current fiscal biennium after Saturday’s special session.

The reductions proposed by the Governor in the current fiscal biennium are similar to many of the reductions proposed for the 2011-13 biennium, but will take effect sooner.

Some of the changes proposed in the Governor’s FY11 supplemental budger include:

  • Elimination of additional state funds for kindergarten through 4th grade class size reduction efforts for the entire 2010–11 school year
  • Reduction of levy equalization payments to eligible districts by 6.287 percent for Fiscal Year 2011.
  • A shift of part of the June 2011 apportionment payment to school districts from the last business day of June 2011 to the first business day of July 2011.
  • Elimination of the Basic Health Plan beginning March 1, 2011. All insurance subsidized through the Basic Health Plan will be eliminated, which affects 66,000 individuals
  • Elimination of the Disability Lifeline Grant and Medical programs, saving $43.5 million in GF-S and $22.6 million in federal funds.

In addition, her proposed supplemental budget would make the following changes to the higher education sector:

  • Continue support for K-12, higher education, and early learning programs funed by the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account and Education Legacy Trust Fund.
  • Suspension of the implementation of definitions for college readiness in science and English.
  • Elimination of funding for a consultant to assist the HECB in monitoring and reporting activities and for work associated with an additional Health Sciences and Services Authority (HSSA) designation.  RCW 24.104 requires the HECB to monitor and report to the Legislature biennially on the performance of the HSSA program in Spokane County.
  • Reduction in student financial aid administration costs.
  • Reduction in funds for the Technology Transformation Task Force. In the 2009 legislative session the HECB was directed to convene a higher education technology transformation task force.

No further reductions were made to higher education institutions beyond those implemented during the Saturday special session. In addition, no reductions were made to the State Need Grant program.