Education cuts -- 'You don't target the have-nots'

OLYMPIA -- Kyle Curtis made his case.

He was polite and professional, but he spoke from his heart.

The 18-year-old Eisenhower High School senior was part of a Yakima School District contingent that recently traveled to the state capital to advocate for education funding.

Funds for levy equalization, K-4 class-size reductions and all-day kindergarten were prominent in the discussions.

Curtis told legislators, five in all, how he drives each school day from White Swan to Yakima -- about 32 miles away -- to attend Eisenhower, where he's president of an Associated Student Body of roughly 2,000 students and his course load includes multiple Advanced Placement classes.

"I'm very thankful for that opportunity," he told Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, chairwoman of the House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee.

The state's projected shortfall for the coming biennium is $4.6 billion. Proposed cuts to public school spending make up almost half that amount.

"There's only so much to be divided, and everybody's scrambling for it," said Yakima superintendent Elaine Beraza, who led the lobbying trip. Bringing a student along, she said, "puts a face on the cut."

Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed budget cuts for K-12 education include $216 million earmarked to hire teachers to keep class sizes down in the lowest grades.

According to figures from the Washington Education Association, an estimated 2,000 teaching jobs could be lost, as many as 1,500 from cuts to K-4 funding.

Reductions for K-12 education -- including a 6.3 percent decrease in levy equalization -- would save the state $2.2 billion during the next two years.

Levy equalization, or Local Effort Assistance, is intended to provide equity between school districts where property assessments are lower -- like those in the Yakima Valley -- and districts that are property-rich, like Bellevue and Mercer Island.

While the proposed reductions take a tiered rather than uniform approach, critics call it unfair because it still targets the state's poorer districts.

That's why it's the No. 1 priority for Yakima school officials during this legislative session.

"We want to advocate that whatever cuts are taken, they're taken across the board," Beraza said. "State money woes are not good. Everybody's fighting for the same pot of money."

But, she said, "You don't target the have-nots."

On the way to Olympia, she outlined her strategy: "We are going to emphasize that cuts should be made equally. We're not mentioning the K-4 enhancement; it's gone. Levy equalization is not safe."

The proposed cuts to levy equalization take into account how close districts are to the statewide average property tax rate. Districts that are close to the average would receive less funding, while districts further from the average would hold on to more.

Districts in Tier 1, including Yakima, are slated for a 1 percent reduction to their LEA allotment. Districts in Tier 2, including East Valley and Selah, are looking at a 3 percent decrease. The reduction jumps to 5 percent for those in Tier 3, including West Valley. And it climbs much higher -- to 28.75 percent -- for districts in Tier 4, including Ellensburg and Goldendale.

In all, cuts to levy equalization represent about $39.5 million.

"It's our bread and butter. It's what keeps us alive," Beraza told Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, chairwoman of the House Education Committee. "Our local community can't support any more. We are a high-poverty school district. It's not an excuse."

Curtis, who had to make up an AP calculus exam after missing class to lobby the lawmakers, told Santos the same thing he told Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, chairwoman of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee: "I choose to drive 45 minutes every day to Eisenhower High School because of the academic programs they have there."

In addition to Curtis and the superintendent, the contingent included associate superintendent Cece Mahre, assistant superintendent for business service Scott Izutsu, and Garfield Elementary School principal Alan Matsumoto. Yakima Education Association president Vicki Dwight met the group at the capital.

Like Beraza, Dwight -- who represents about 900 teachers -- said, "Levy equalization is huge. We want to keep what we've got. We don't want to go backwards. We're hoping there aren't any take-aways."

The van left the district's central service building in downtown Yakima at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, arriving in Olympia at 8:30 a.m. Izutsu drove. After he parked, Curtis paused to take a picture of the Capitol rotunda, shrouded in mist.

In the hallway outside the office of Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, a member of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, Beraza read the day's headlines on her phone: "House budget cuts hit education, social services," "Cuts in education 'going to be painful' ... "

Inside King's office, Rep. Charles Ross, R-Naches, confirmed the news: "We are a race car that's in the red zone."

The group met with King and Ross. Rep. Norm Johnson, R-Yakima, was unable to attend, but he's on the schedule for the group's next legislative visit Feb. 16.

That contingent will consist of Beraza, Dwight, deputy superintendent Jack Irion, assistant superintendent for human resources Steve Cole, school board president Martha Rice and member David Garcia as well as a Davis High School student.

Yakima, the region's largest district with more than 14,500 students, isn't the only school district sending officials to Olympia to lobby. All 25 districts in Educational Service District 105 have been encouraged to maintain a presence in the capital during this legislative session -- every day, if possible.

"We have a schedule, and we are rotating," Beraza said.

In addition to levy equalization, which is "key," according to Beraza, another top priority for YSD is state matching funds for school construction, which she and other school officials worry might be delayed or reduced.

"That keeps me awake at night," Beraza said. "It almost makes me ill to think about it. Ike is huge. Davis is huge. Our project is so large. We can't front -- out of our own monies -- (the) Ike or Davis (construction projects) because of the magnitude."

In 2009, taxpayers approved, by an overwhelming 68 percent, a 20-year, $114 million bond measure to replace Ike and remodel Davis, among other projects. The anticipated state match is $104 million.

"The plans are on the table," Beraza said. "We're very worried."

King said he would look into the matter of the matching funds.

He also said lawmakers need to look outside education to solve its funding problems: "You can't keep making promises you can't fulfill, and in education we've been doing that for years."

Ross was on the same page, mentioning programs such as the General Assistance Unemployable, or GAU, and Basic Health Plans, as places from which to pull funding. He said he doesn't support retroactive cuts, such as the $42 million cut to K-4 class-size funding the House voted on early last week.

Gregoire's proposed cuts for the coming biennium includes another $57 million for all-day kindergarten, a program designed to keep the all-day option for students in schools with the highest poverty levels.

But, Beraza said, "We'll find a way to make all-day kindergarten happen as long as we don't have cuts to levy equalization."

McAuliffe was supportive of the district's position.

"We must continue to make sure we have the equity in funding," she said.

After four meetings with five lawmakers in a 13-hour road trip, Beraza said, "It was a good day. I feel like we made our points. I feel like everybody was receptive."

So did Curtis: "It seemed the majority of the people we spoke to were on the same page, that levy equalization is important to our schools and to Washington."

Beraza planned to follow up with e-mails to all of the lawmakers. She also sent one Thursday to district employees, writing:

"This is a critical time for our state education budget. So much will be decided over the course of the next few weeks. I certainly encourage everyone to be an advocate for public education and our investment in youth."

* Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com.

Governor's proposed cuts to K-12 spending for the 2011-13 biennium*

* $860.2 million -- Initiative 728 funding for smaller class sizes, extended learning times and teacher training.

* $253.3 million -- Initiative 732 funding for teachers' and other K-12 employees' pay increases.

* $216 million -- K-4 class size reductions.

* $99.5 million -- Annual bonuses for National Board Certified Teachers.

* $95.6 million -- School bus replacement.

* $57 million -- Expansion of all-day kindergarten funding.

* $56.3 million -- Annual teacher pay increases for added experience and continuing education credits.

* $37.1 million -- Assorted grants and programs, such as Washington Reading Corps, through which AmeriCorps volunteers work with students in schools to improve reading.

* $18.6 million -- Gifted/highly capable student funding.

* $742,000 -- Washington State Achievers and College Bound scholarships and student outreach programs

* Doesn't include retroactive cuts for the current school year.

-- Source: Office of the Governor