Tag Archives: House Education Committee

Hawkins school incentives bill approved by Senate

Senate Bill 5487 now heads to the House Education Committee for consideration.

Senate Bill 5487, a bipartisan bill introduced by 12th District Sen. Brad Hawkins, has successfully cleared another hurdle in Olympia as it was approved today by the state Senate by a vote of 40 to 9.

“I’m excited my bill has advanced this far in a short session,” said Hawkins, the ranking Republican on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, and a former board member at the North Central Educational Service District and Eastmont School District. “It has provided my colleagues an opportunity to have a productive dialog on this idea, which is what I was hoping for. I’m grateful that they feel the idea has merit.”

Hawkins’ bill takes a creative approach to elevating the issue of small school district consolidation by offering a temporary boost in facility funding if school districts voluntarily choose to consolidate together, achieving savings for taxpayers and expanding opportunities for students.

Hawkins stated that the average cost during the 2019-2020 school year in state and local dollars was $13,879 per student. Small school districts in Hawkins’ legislative district, for example, spent as much as $22,125 (Orondo), $26,342 (Mansfield), and $28,745 (Palisades) that year per student.

Hawkins said that smaller districts tend to spend much more per student due largely to front-office administrative functions that he believes could be shared among multiple districts. He believes it would be more efficient for taxpayers – and expand opportunities for students – if some districts partnered with their nearby neighbors.

“I’ve been encouraging my legislative colleagues to think differently about how we deliver educational services,” said Hawkins. “If we were to reimagine school districts today based on what we spend on education, we wouldn’t draw up 295 different school districts in our state, especially when many of the small school districts are spending much more than the state average per student. It doesn’t make sense for the taxpayers.

“Legislators are in the ‘carrots-and-sticks’ business, and I’ve always preferred the carrots,” added Hawkins. “We can’t expect things to change unless we come up with creative options. I think a ‘voluntary, incentives-based’ consolidation bill has largely avoided the controversies of past proposals and has prompted some conversations.”

Senate Bill 5487 previously was approved by the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, Ways and Means Committee, and Rules Committee this session.

The bill now advances to the House Education Committee, a committee Hawkins served on when he was a 12th District state representative.

Education committee leaders urge vaccine access for all school employees

Washington state’s education committee leaders, including 12th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins, urged Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Department of Health to revise recent guidance so that all school employees who wish to get a vaccination can receive one in February as part of Phase 1B2.

According to the Department of Health’s recent guidance and timeline, which health care providers are following, school employees “50 years or older” are eligible to receive their vaccines as early as February. However, school employees “under 50 years” of age will not be eligible until at least April. The Jan. 11 letter comes at a time when school districts throughout Washington are expecting many, if not all, grade levels to soon return to classrooms to potentially interact with hundreds of students per day.

While this is welcome news for many in the school community, Hawkins – who serves as the ranking Republican member on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee – believes it definitely justifies school employees (administrators, teachers, and support staff) gaining access to the vaccines now that front-line healthcare workers, first responders, and assisted living facility residents have already begun to receive vaccinations.

“School employees throughout Washington are delivering an essential service to help fulfill our state’s paramount duty,” said Hawkins. “They deserve to be prioritized with older Washingtonians, especially considering that they cannot self-isolate like many in our state. In fact, they will be doing the opposite, working indoors and in close proximity with students and staff. They absolutely should gain access to the vaccine.”

The letter, signed by the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate education committees, states: “As members of the Washington State Legislature and supporters of our educational system, we are writing to express our disappointment with the Department of Health’s recent guidance related to Washington’s COVID-19 Vaccine Phases. Based on your graphical representation of the phases and its timeline, it appears that many school district employees will not be eligible to receive their first dose of the COVID vaccine until at least April. If timelines slip and school employees are unable to receive their first dose until later in April, by the time they are fully vaccinated and gain full protection from the virus, school districts across Washington will be nearing the end of the school year. This is unacceptable.”

 The letter further states: “As you know, school employees, students and families have made tremendous sacrifices during this pandemic and, like us all, they deeply hope for circumstances to return to normal soon. However, nothing will even resemble normal until our schools are fully functioning, given that they are foundational in so many ways to all Washington communities.”

(Included are links to the letter from the legislative education committee leaders to the governor and DOH, and the vaccine distribution timeline.)