If you have been following the Daily Reports, you know that
the Senate and House budgets are nearly identical in the amount of per pupil
allocations to each school division. What is different in each version is how
the dollars are dispersed.
Both bills remove the appropriation of $55.1 million
from the Governor’s budget for the one-time bonus. The Senate applies the
$55.1M to a 2% salary increase for SOQ funded positions. The House adds the
$55.1M to the Lottery Supplemental fund and frees up those dollars for the
school divisions to use as they wish, including for salary increases.
A few things to know. Neither budget requires any new salary
increase for the upcoming school year. In the Senate’s plan, state support for
salary increases can be used for any 2% salary increase given at any point in
the biennium. So if your division gave a 2% increase this school year, they can
draw down the state money to back-fill the local expense on the previous year’s
raise. So while we are happy to see state support for a 2% salary increase, it
is important to know what the language in the appropriation says.
The House plan does not call for salary increases at all,
and, in fact, the flexible “supplemental” funding stream school divisions can
use for raises if they choose, does not include an allocation that would cover
a 2% salary increase for all SOQ funded positions. The House plan does have a
larger allocation per student through the supplemental fund and school
divisions can use this for other priorities including their share of the VRS
acceleration. We know that for some localities, there was real concern about
how they would pay for the state-mandated VRS acceleration. Some school
divisions were so strapped to cover the cost, they were talking about laying
off teachers. This supplemental fund gives those localities a funding stream
they can use.
So, overall, the budget conference is a tough one. The VEA
is standing firmly behind the Senate’s plan for state funding the 2% salary increase.
While it does not require a 2% salary increase for next school year, it would
encourage and allow school divisions that rescinded raises last school year when
the state did not come through with support, to have state support this
upcoming year. It will also allow divisions to recoup lost state funding if
they gave a raise this school year. We will have to see where the budget debate
lands. Again, overall, the per pupil funding from each budget is nearly
identical. The devil is in the details. Keep checking the updates to learn more
and to take action as a cyber-lobbyist.
Today we are getting a clearer picture of the bills of
interest to the VEA that will go to conference. When the House and Senate pass similar,
but not identical, bills the bills are handed off to a group of legislators to
come to a compromise on the final bill. This process is called “conference”.
The budget bill always goes to conference, but many bills do as well. This year
we expect the Virtual School Bills (HB1400/SB1240) and the Discipline
(Long-Term Suspension) bills (HB1534 and HB1536/SB995 and SB997) will go to
conference and we will work with the conferees (the legislators assigned to
work out the compromise) to make sure we get the very best language possible in
all. Stay tuned here for updates.
Tomorrow is a big day at the General Assembly. It’s
Valentine’s Day. The General Assembly staff takes this very seriously. Red and
pink decorations are up, candy is out, roses are being delivered, and everyone
has their red clothes ready. I will try to get some pictures for tomorrow’s
blog.
