Tag Archives: Budget

2012 Special Session Begins

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Today the Washington Legislature convened the 2012 special session. On Friday Governor Gregoire called legislators back to Olympia at noon today to finish work on a supplemental operating and capital budget as well as the necessary policy bills needed to implement the budgets.

The special session is likely to be focused but it remains uncertain if it will go the entire thirty days. Governor Gregoire announced that she reached agreement with lawmakers to remain focused on a limited agenda, including the budgets and potentially a jobs plan that could inject $1.2 billion in state money into school construction, community projects, and environmental cleanups across the state. 

In addition a handful of other policy items may be considered, especially as vote counts are realized. Among these issues include the repeal of Initiative 728, various revenue-raising ideas, and reforms focused on a new way of budgeting and the creation of a new health-insurance pool for K-12 public school employees.

However the time it will take to reach agreement even on this limited agenda is uncertain.

Legislators left late Thursday night after failing to reach agreement on a supplemental operating budget to close the remaining $1 billion budget gap. A primary barrier to resolution during the regular session was the different approaches taken to close the budget gap. The Republicans – with support of three Senate Democrats- support skipping a penion payment and the Democrats support delaying a payment to K-12 schools.  Solving this hurdle along with a multitude of reductions and other policy changes will be the primary order of business this special session and will take time.

Progress is likely to be slow. This week it appears the House is not scheduled to convene and the Senate is scheduled only for pro forma sessions until Wednesday when a possible session is scheduled. In the meantime the Governor has indicated her desire to begin to set up negotiations between the “five corners” – meaning the Governor’s Office and the leaders of the Democratic and Republican caucuses in the House and Senate.

Sine Die Followed By Special Session

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At midnight last night the Washington Legislature ended the 2012 supplemental legislative session. The  session ended without the passage of an operating or a capital budget or several policy bills that would be necessary to implement any of the budgets proposed this session.

As a result, soon after the supplemental session was called Governor Gregoire announced the beginning of a special session. The Legislature will return to Olympia on Monday at noon to work on a budget compromise.

House Passes Senate Budget with Striking Amendment

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Early this evening the Washington House took action on the Senate-passed operating budget. 

In a vote of 53-45 the House passed a striking amendment to the budget. The striker replaces the Senate Republican language adopted late last week when Republicans took control of the budget on the Senate floor.

This new budget looks much the same as the Senate Democratic budget introduced early last week in that there are no additional cuts to higher education. However, there is language in the bill that requires Evergreen to use $639,000 of its own appropriations solely for the expansion in enrollments in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). There are no cuts to financial aid.

The House-passed bill now moves back to the Senate for further consideration.

Budget Changes Direction Overnight

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On Friday Senate Republicans took control of the Senate floor early in the evening. The Senate Republicans along with three Democrats voted together to bring an alternative budget proposal to the floor.

Though Senate Democrats made a series of procedural motions, these efforts failed to keep the Governor’s supplemental operating budget from being moved to the Senate floor for consideration.  The Senate Republicans and three Democrats then moved to amend the Governor’s budget bill with the Senate Republican budget proposal and passed the budget proposal to the House for further consideration on a 25-24 vote.

The Senate Republican budget proposal reduces funding for higher education by $30.4 million compared to the Senate Democrat budget proposal which makes no cuts to higher education.

The reductions to higher education in the Senate Republican budget are focused on institutions. The proposed budget makes no reductions to the State Need Grant program or Work Study programs. The proposal does restore awards to students who attend for-profit institutions from the 50% award reduction passed as part of the 2011-13 biennial budget.

Under the Senate Republican proposal the the maximum level of authority to waive tuition is reduced for the public baccalaureate institutions and community and technical colleges. The impact to Evergreen is a reduction of $332,000 in the second year of the biennium.

Some of the public baccalaureate institutions are further reduced to reflect update revenue projections as a result of non-resident undergraduate tuition increases implemented by an institution. Evergreen did not see a reduction for changes in revenue for non-resident undergraduate tuition increases.

House Committee Moves 2012 Supplemental Operating Budget

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On Saturday members of the House Ways & Means Committee took action on the Washington House’s proposed 2012 Supplemental Operating Budget.

The budget, as passed by the Committee, made several changes to multiple parts of the budget. Overall the budget passed by the Committee provides for an additional $54.9 million above the budget originally proposed by the House Democrats.

With regard to higher education, the budget as passed by the Committee makes the following changes:

  • Eliminates funding for the STEM Degree Incentive Program in the Student Achievement Council (the new HECB entity) and redirects the funds by appropriating them directly to Eastern Washington University, Western Washington University, Central Washinton University, and The Evergreen State College. The amendment requires that the funds appropriated to the universities and college are to be used only for direct costs of instruction associated with this enrollment expansion
  • Requires the student achievement council (new HECB entity) to convene the Higher Education Loan Program Work Group. Requires the Work Group to develop methods for funding the loan program in the future as well as recommendations regarding the best loan program structure for providing financial aid to underserved populations. Sets out certain factors that the Work Group must take into account in making their recommendations. Provides a due date for the resulting report of December 1, 2012 and appropriates $50,000 for this purpose.

The House’s proposed 2012 Supplemental Operating Budget will now move to the House Floor for consideration.

Washington House Republicans Release 2012 Supplemental Operating Budget

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On Friday, the Washington House Republicans released its proposed supplemental operating  budget for the remainder of the biennium.

2012 Supplemental Operating Budget Proposal
The proposed supplemental budget makes approximately $840 million in state funding reductions. The budget leaves $651 million in reserves and does not put forth a revenue package.

The budget reduces funding for higher education by $105.3 million. Of this amount, state funding for community and technical colleges is reduced by $14.5 million and state funding for the four-year, public institutions is $15 million lower. The Evergreen State College is reduced by $541,000.

The majority of the reductions to higher education come through policy changes to state funded financial aid programs. The State Need Grant program is reduced by $75.8 million. This reduction is achieved by altering eligibilty guidelines in two ways. First awards for students attending baccalaureate institutions are limited to 12 quarters (4 years) and for students attending two-year institutions their awards are limited to 6 quarters (2 years). In addition only those students who file their Federal Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) by the March 15th deadline would be eligible to receive a State Need Grant.

In addition the proposed budget would restore funding to private, for-profit institutions, previously reduced in the 2011 biennial budget. Finally the proposed budget maintains current funding for the state work study program and eliminates funding for remedial education for those under 20 at community colleges.

The proposed budget would also reduce state employee monthly health benefit funding rates form $850 to $800 ($33.1 million) and institute 24 days of furlough for all state employees, including those at higher education institutions, beginning July 1, 2012 ($91 million). The exception to the furloughs would be any state employees working for critical services such as corrections and hospitals.

In addition to the reductions to higher education the proposed budget makes the following reductions to achieve a total savings of $840 million.

  • Reduces funding to the Department of Ecology by 14%
  • Eliminates all general fund spending for the Puget Sound Partnership
  • Makes $33 million in administrative efficiencies in information technology, goods and services, personal service contracts, travel, equipment and cell phones.
  • Reduces most general government agencies by 5-10%

The House Republican’s budget proposal will be followed by a proposal put forth by the House Democrats on February 21. The Senate’s proposed operating budget is expected to follow next week.

 

House Education Appropriations Wraps Up Work

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This morning the House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee held the last public hearing and work session before the House deadline tomorrow – February 3.

Among the bills heard this morning was legislation to encourage the public baccalaureate institutions to design innovative approaches to increase the number of resident students gaining baccalaureate degrees and a bill to require institutions of higher education that already offer early registration to a certain population of students, to offer early registration to students who are eligible veterans or National Guard members.

The Committee followed the public hearing with a work session in which the Committee took action on several bills. Among the bills that will impact higher education is legislation focused on innovation at higher education, early registration for veterans at institutions for higher education, and flexibility with regard to regulations for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions and community and technical colleges.

More and More Bills

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The Washington House and Senate continue to steadily move through bills as deadlines pass and new deadlines near. 

Washington House

In the House the deadline to move policy bills from commitee and to either an appropriation committee or the House floor passed yesterday (January 31). With the passage of this deadline the House has refocused on the appropriation committees in preparation for the next deadline. On February 7, bills, unless necessary to implement the budget, must have moved out of the fiscal committees to the floor.

House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee

This morning the House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee held a public hearing on a handful of bills. 

Among the bills heard this morning was legislation to provide greater flexibility to Washington’s institutions of higher education – both two- and four-year public institutions. The bill would enact a handful of changes to the business-side of the house at institutions of higher education.

The public baccalaureate institutions and community and technical colleges testified in support of the legislation. Both sectors highlighted the opportunity this bill would provide to institutions to maintain a focus on the mission of their institutions to educate students at a time of limited resources and further state funding reductions.  The Governor’s Office expressed concerns about the need to align the bill with efficiencies in higher education.

Washington Senate

The Senate has a few more days before the first deadline of the session is met. All Senate bills must have moved from their respective policy committee by end of day on February 3.

Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development

As the Friday deadline nears, the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee met this afternoon. The Committee held a public hearing on legislation that specifies that the State Archives, to insure the maintenance of security and preservation standards and to promote efficiency and access consistent with the requirements of this chapter, must authorize  the operation or lease of an archive, records center, records warehouse, or records storage facility. In addition  any state agency with an archives, records center, records warehouse, or records storage facility must transfer the records to the state archives by July 1, 2013.

Evergreen, along with the University of Washington, testified with concerns with regard to the potential costs of requiring institutions to transfer records to the state archives. In addition Evergreen expressed concern about the potential negative impact on the College’s  current digital archive program.

Following the public hearing the Committee took action on several bills previously heard this session. Among the bills the Committee passed included legislation to establish a new state level entity for higher education, create financial literacy options for postsecondary education students, and provide for regulatory flexibility for institutions of higher education.

Details Emerge About Obama’s Blueprint for Higher Education

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Late last week, several days after President Obama announced new proposed federal policies focused on the availability of affordable quality higher education, details  emerged about how the Obama Administration would go about achieving this goal.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for a comprehensive approach to tackling rising college costs. In a speech at the University of Michigan President Obama provided additional details about the framework by which he will work with Congress to establish a set of policies focused on increasing post-secondary education opportunities in the U.S.

The proposal put forth by the President would include several components.

  • Reform student aid to promote affordability and value: To keep tuition from spiraling too high and drive greater value, the President will propose reforms to federal campus-based air programs to shift aid away from colleges that fail to keep net tuition down, and toward those colleges and universities that do their fair share to keep tuition affordable, provide good value, and serve needy students well. These changes in federal aid to campuses will leverage $10 billion annually to keep tuition down. The President’s plan calls for shared responsibility between the federal government, states, and institutions of higher education to tackle rising college costs by  improving the distribution of federal financial aid and increase campus-based aid. This reform will reward colleges that are succeeding in meeting the following principles:
      • Setting responsible tuition policy, offering relatively lower net tuition prices and/or restraining tuition growth.
      • Providing good value to students and families, offering quality education and training that prepares graduates to obtain employment and repay their loans.
      • Serving low-income students, enrolling and graduating relatively higher numbers of Pell-eligible students.

In his proposal the President is proposing to change how funds for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOGs), Perkins Loans, and Work Study are distributed by implementing an improved formula that shifts aid from schools with rising tuition to those acting responsibly, focused on setting responsible tuition policy, providing good value in education, and ensuring that higher numbers of low-income students complete their education. He is also proposing to increase the amount of campus-based aid to $10 billion annually. The increase is primarily driven by an expansion of loans in the federal Perkins program – which comes at no additional taxpayer cost.

Under his plan colleges that can show that they are providing students with good long-term value will be rewarded with additional dollars to help students attend. Those that show poor value, or who don’t act responsibly in setting tuition, will receive less federal campus-based aid.  Students will receive the greatest government grant and loan support at colleges where they are likely to be best served, and little or no campus aid will flow to colleges that fail to meet affordability and value standards.

 

  • Create a Race to the Top for college affordability and completion: The president will create incentives for states and colleges to keep costs under control through a $1billion investment in a new challenge to states to spur higher education reform focused on affordability and improved outcomes across state colleges and universities. The Race to the Top: College Affordability and Completion will reward states who are willing to drive systemic change in their higher education policies and practices, while doing more to contain their tuition and make it easier for students to earn a college degree.The President is proposing a program that would spur systemic state reforms to reduce costs for students and promote success in our higher education system at public colleges. This $1 billion investment would incentivize states to: (1) Revamp the structure of state financing for higher education; (2) Align entry and exit standards with K-12 education and colleges to facilitate on-time completion; and (3) Maintain adequate levels of funding for higher education in order to address important long-term causes of cost growth at the public institutions that serve two-thirds of four-year college students. The intention is that the Race to the Top for College Affordability and Completion would incentivize governors and state legislatures around the nation to act on spurring this innovative reform. Through cost-saving measures like redesigning courses and making better use of education technology, institutions can keep costs down to provide greater affordability for students.

 

  • A first in the World competition to model innovation and quality on college campuses: The president will invest $55 million in a new First in the World competition, to support the public and private colleges and non-profit organizations as they work to develop and test the next breakthrough strategy that will boost higher education attainment and student outcomes. The new program will also help scale-up those innovative and effective practices that have been proven to boost productivity and enhance teaching and learning on college campuses.  This initiative would provide modest start-up funding for individual colleges, including private colleges, for projects that could lead to longer-term and larger productivity improvements among colleges and universities – such as course redesign through the improved use of technology, early college preparation activities to lessen the need for remediation, competency-based approaches to gaining college credit, and other ideas aimed at spurring changes in the culture of higher education.

 

  • Better data for families choose the right college for them: The president will call for a College Scorecard for all degree-granting institutions, designed to provide the essential information about college costs, graduation rates, and potential earnings, all in an easy-to-read format that will help students and families choose a college that is well suited to their needs, priced affordably and consistent with their career and educational goals. The Administration will create a College Scorecard for all degree-granting institutions making it easier for students and families to choose a college that is best suited to their needs, priced affordably, and consistent with their career and educational goals.  The administration will also make an updated version of the ‘Financial Aid Shopping Sheet,’ announced in October, a required template for all colleges, rather than a voluntary tool, to make it easier for families to compare college financial aid packages. Finally, the President is also proposing to begin collecting earnings and employment information for colleges, so that students can have an even better sense of the post post-graduation outcomes they can expect.

 

  • Federal Support to Tackle College Costs In his State of the Union, President Obama called on Congress to: (1) Keep student loan interest rates low. This summer, the interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans are set to double from 3.4% to 6.8% – a significant burden at a time when the economy is still fragile and students are taking on increasing amounts of debt to earn a degree. The President is asking Congress to prevent that hike from taking place for a year to keep student debt down, a proposal that will keep interest rates low for 7.4 million student loan borrowers and save the average student over a thousand dollars; (2) Double the number of work-study jobs available:  The President also proposes to double the number of career-related work-study opportunities so that students are able to gain valuable work-related experience while in school; and (3) Maintain our commitment to college affordability: Over 9 million students and families per year take advantage of the Obama Administration’s American Opportunity Tax Credit – supporting up to $10,000 over four years of college.  In his State of the Union address, the President called on Congress to make this tax credit permanent and prevent it from expiring in 2012.

Though many within higher education support the President’s intentions to provide access to an affordable quality education, many are concerned that the lack of recognition regarding the dramatic decline in funding at the state and local levels and the need for flexibility to manage these unprecedented time within the President’s framework may lead to greater harm than good.

Overview of U.S. Department of Education 2011-12 Federal Budget

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At the end of December 2011 President Obama signed into law the 2011-12 federal education budget. The budget provides funding for the U.S. Department of Education and education programs from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.

The budget provides $68.3 billion in discretionary spending to the U.S. Department of Education. This represents a 1.4% decrease from last year. Part of the federal budget negotiations included a required reduction of 0.189% across-the-board.

Multiple key programs are funded at similar funding levels to last year.  However some key programs saw declines in their funding levels.

  • The Pell Grant program received a slight reduction of 0.58% with a maximum annual level of per student funding set at $5,550. A limit was placed on the number of full-time Pell grants any individual student may receive in a lifetime to a maximum of six years/12 semesters and requires that students have either received a high school diploma or GED, or have been homeschooled in order to be eligible.
  • The Race to the Top program saw a reduction of 21% from $699 million to $549 million. The budget legislation requires the program to include a robust early childhood education component this year.