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Governor's budget proposal cuts kids' universal vaccine program, suspends teacher pay raises
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Photo from Governor's website
With a deficit of nearly $6 billion in the state budget, Governor Christine Gregoire has proposed a budget that makes cuts to many of the state's programs serving children, in addition to other cuts.
The $6 billion deficit is the largest revenue shortfall in state history, according to the League of Education Voters. Gregoire is recommending more than $1 billion in cuts to programs serving children. Here is a sampling of some of the cuts as outlined by the League of Education Voters:
- Reducing the number of children eligible for the state health care plan and cuts to the universal vaccine program for children would be included under Gregoire's budget.
- Pay raises for teachers would be suspended, a cut of $350 million, short-circuiting a mandate from Initiative 732, which was passed by voters in 2000.
- Another popular initiative, I-728, the class size reduction initiative, would also lose $178 million in funding.
- The Child Care Resource and Referral Network, which helps families find appropriate child care would be reduced.
- Funding that helps poorer school districts hire teachers and staff would also be lost as part of a $125 million cut to levy equalization.
- Tuition at state colleges and universities could go up about $450 per year and $125 per year at community colleges to make up for a $340 million cut in higher education funding.
The budget process this year will be painful no matter who is in charge, and in fact, according to the Seattle PI, Gregoire's cuts are not much different from what her opponent, Dino Rossi, has proposed. It would be difficult to raise taxes in this economy, and that would be the only way to avoid these kinds of cuts.
The next step in the budget process begins on January 12, when the Washington State Legislature will convene. Both the Senate and the House will come up with their own budget proposals. They will then negotiate with each other and with the Governor's office to come up with a final budget over the next 105 days. If you have opinions on what should or should not be cut in the budget, you can contact your state senator and representative (if you don't know who they are, you can find them here). You can also contact the Governor's office with your opinion by clicking here.
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