Contact your legislators today

Compensation is WEA's No. 1 priority. Budget proposals are expected from the Senate and Gov. Gregoire sometime after March 17.

Here are WEA's key compensation-related goals for this session:

• Restoring the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) mandated by voter-approved Initiative 732.
• Making up the COLAs that were suspended the last two years.
• Insurance funding that keeps pace with increased premium costs.
• Pension improvements as identified by the Select Committee on Pension Policy, including lowering the retirement age for educators in Plans 2 and 3.

All WEA members and public school supporters are encouraged to contact their legislators and Gov. Gregoire. To send a message to your legislators in support of professional compensation for educators, visit WEA's Legislative Action Center or call the Legislative Hotline at 800-562-6000.

Key bills pass, some die, some may be revived

Monday, March 7 was the second significant deadline, or cut off, for bills. It was the day bills had to pass out of the fiscal committees in their house of origin. Some bills are alive, some bills are dead and some bills can be revived.

Here are WEA-backed bills that are alive as of March 8:

House Bill 1484 -- One of WEA's top priorities this session. The bill would allow voter-approved countywide school levies that would fund regional COLA supplements for educators. It passed out of the House Finance Committee to the Rules Committee. It will now require at least 50 votes to get out of the House by March 16.

HB 2212/SB 5983 -- Professional certification (Pro Cert) improvements have both moved out of fiscal committees and will await floor action.

E2SSB 5441 -- The Senate version of Education Finance Study has been voted out of the Senate and awaits House action. The House version, SHB 1380, is on the calendar awaiting a vote by the full House.

SHJR 4205 -- Allows for simple majority on levies. It has passed the House and is in the Senate. Also in the Senate is SSJR 8202, simple majority for both levies and bonds.

SHJM 4010/SJM 8011 -- Memorials urging President Bush and Congress to fix and fund the so-called No Child Left Behind act are both alive in the Senate and House.

SB 5087 -- Calls for a review and update of the best practices for compensating part-time faculty and has moved out of the fiscal committee in the Senate.

SB 5802 -- Calls for equal pay for equal work among community college faculty and has also moved out of Senate Ways and Means.

HB 1324/SB 5246 -- The omnibus package of pension benefit improvements and savings, has been heard by the House Appropriations Committee. It is necessary to implement the budget and is exempt from cut-off.

SHB 1320 -- The bill would provide for five-year vesting for members of Plan 3 and has been passed by the House and awaits action in the Senate.

HB 1321 -- It provides pension equity to education staff associates by allowing part-time employees to annualize their salary for purposes of determining their pension benefit (as is provided for teachers and counselors), has passed the House and awaits action by the Senate. The companion measure, SB 5324, is in the Senate Rules Committee for purposes of scheduling a floor vote by the full Senate.

Dead bills include:

HB 2045, which would have codified in statute bonuses for teachers with National Board certification. It did not move out of committee but could likely be included in the budget as it has been in the past.

HB 1616, which would have provided education staff associates up to five years of experience credit on the salary schedule for work related to their certification in settings other than schools.

HB 1965, which called first for tuition waivers for teachers pursuing their Pro Cert or master's degree and later amended to be a bonus for achieving the Pro Cert. It died in the House Appropriations Committee.