White Salmon Schools

I-728

I-728 Funding

Initiative 728, the K-12 Student Achievement Initiative, was approved by 72% of the Washington voters in November of 2000. Beginning in the fall of 2001, I-728 provided a continuous stream of dollars to school districts beginning at a rate of approximately $190 for every full-time equivalent (FTE) child in the district. Over the last six years, the amount has increased to a current total of $300 for every FTE. The proposed legislative allocation for the 2006-2007 school year is $375/FTE. These are tax dollars generated in our district that previously went into the state's General Fund for legislators to spend however they chose.

Because of I-728, these dollars remain at home to support education reform. The funds must be used in any of the following six broad areas:

1. class size reduction in grades K-4,
2. class size reduction in grades 5-12 (for example, specific writing or mathematics classes),
3. extended learning opportunities in grades K-12 (summer programs, after school programs like Henkle's Project Open Door, or Saturday programs),
4. professional development (staff in-service training),
5. early childhood programs birth to 5 years, and,
6. improvements to school buildings for reducing class size.

There are four requirements to acquire these dollars:

1. hold a school board public hearing before May 1, 2006, on how the district plans to use the funds,
2. adopt a plan by the school board no later than August 31, 2006,
3. present an annual report to the citizens explaining how the funds were used, and,
4. send a copy of the annual report to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the A+ Commission, the state's commission charged with overseeing the accountability of education reform.

The public hearing for this year's I-728 budget decisions will take place during our regularly scheduled board meeting on April 20 at 7 pm in the Whitson Elementary School library. The public is welcome to attend.

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