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2009-11 State Budget
2007-09 State Budget 2007-08 Legislative Session Position Papers
2009-11 State Budget  WASB 2009-11 State Budget Chart (48.66 KB)
2009-11 Preliminary State Budget Priorities (157.82 KB) Aug. 14, 2008 Letter to Supt. Burmaster (95.84 KB)
2007-09 State Budget 2007-09 State Budget Deficit Update Gov. Doyle used his line-item veto pen on May 16 to eliminate the proposed $125 million increase in delayed general school aid payments when he signed the budget adjustment bill sent to him by the Legislature. The governor also eliminated the provision that would have protected general and categorical aids from any cuts as the state seeks to close its $652 million budget deficit for the 2007-09 biennium. However, in July he announced that no cuts would be made to state aids to schools. The WASB priorities for the 2007-09 State Budget were: School board members and administrators are urged to contact their legislators and advocate for an increased investment in public K-12 schools by the state and increased flexibility. Delayed State Budget Materials:
2007-09 State Budget Materials:
2007-08 Legislative Session Position Papers- Bullying Policies:
- WASB testimony for SB 42, which requires school districts to adopt policies on bullying.
- Collective Bargaining:
- WASB testimony (61.02 KB) for AB 670, which makes the reasons for renewal or non-renewal of a teacher's contract a prohibited subject of bargaining, and allows teachers with five years of experience or more to receive two-year contracts.
- WASB testimony (106.46 KB) for SB 121, which makes it a prohibited practice for an employer to end a grievance arbitration or fair-share agreement during a contract hiatus.
- Contracting:
- WASB testimony (91.36 KB) for SB 295, which requires school boards and other local governments to use a qualification-based selection process for certain construction contracts.
- Newark Decision:
- WASB testimony (43.14 KB) for SB 122, which reverses the Newark Decision regarding wastewater treatment facilities.
- Transportation:
- WASB testimony (61.49 KB) for AB 112, which exempts school districts from the state gax tax.
- WASB testimony (38.83 KB) for AB 136, which allows school districts to claim a refund of the state gas tax.
- WASB testimony (52.50 KB) for AB 165, which requires school districts to transport four-year-old kindergarten (4K) students only if the resident school district has a 4K program.
- Uniformity Clause:
- WASB testimony (98.44 KB) for AJR 39, which amends the uniformity clause in the state Constitution to allow local government bodies, including school boards, to set different property tax levy rates upon consolidating or changing boundaries.
- Video and Cable Service Deregulation
- WASB Memo to JFC Members (52.37 KB) for AB 207, which would replace municipal franchising of cable television services with state franchising and regulation of video services provided by cable service providers and telecomunications providers.
- Virtual Schools:
- WASB testimony (64.95 KB) for AB 286, which defines virtual charter schools and extends the open enrollment deadline for students enrolling in virtual charter schools.
- WASB testimony (60.18 KB) and talking points (51.50 KB) for SB 396 as originally proposed by the Senate. It defines virtual charter schools and proposes to create a number of regulations encompassing all virtual education.
- WASB memo (46.08 KB) on the original compromise bill.
- WASB memo (48.29 KB) for AB 870, a compromise bill proposed by the Assembly.
2007-09 State Budget Update Gov. Doyle used his line-item veto pen on May 16 to eliminate the proposed $125 million increase in delayed general school aid payments when he signed the budget adjustment bill sent to him by the Legislature. The governor also eliminated the provision that would have protected general and categorical aids from any cuts as the state seeks to close its $652 million budget deficit for the 2007-09 biennium. However, in July he announced that no cuts would be made to state aids to schools. As vetoed, the budget adjustment bill directs the Department of Administration (DOA) secretary to lapse $270 million in state agency appropriations. This is in addition to the $200 million lapse authority included in the original budget bill approved in October, and $200 million more in budget cuts than the Legislature had approved. The DOA has indicated that $103 million of the $270 million will come from the state's segregated transportation fund (school transportation categorical aids are not funded by this account). The final budget adjustment bill also includes a policy item that will allow districts currently phasing in four-year-old kindergarten programs to have until the 2013-14 school year to make them universal as opposed to the Sept. 1, 2008, cut-off date required by the state superintendent. The increased use of transportation dollars to close the budget gap is the most likely trigger for a veto-override attempt by the Legislature. If there is an attempt, the first vote must be taken in the Assembly before going to the Senate.
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End the Budget Delay Sample Resolution.doc 
