Bring On the Budgets (and the Revenue Ideas!)
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Be sure to check out our comprehensive Week 11 Bill Tracker to see how bills we support have fared. Last week the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported that anticipated revenue collections would be down by nearly $900 million over the next four fiscal years: $479 million in 2025-27, and $420…
Hs Civil Rights & Judiciary SB 5098
Advocacy Committee member Dr. Gwen Loosmore testified in favor of E2SSB 5098, restricting the possession of weapons on the premises of state or local public buildings, parks or playground facilities where children are likely to be present, and county fairs and county fair facilities. Gwen said that a simple restriction like those presented in the…
WA Faces Revenue Decline in New Budget Outlook
By Advocacy Committee, ptaadvocacydir@wastatepta.org On March 18, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released the latest revenue forecast. The figures further worsened the state’s financial outlook, adding to an already projected operating budget shortfall of up to $15 billion over the next four years. The latest forecast projects nearly $900 million less for…
Week 10: Senate Advances Special Education Bill
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Be sure to check out our comprehensive Week 10 Bill Tracker to see how bills we support have fared. Wednesday, March 12 was the deadline for bills to pass out of the chamber in which they began. The Senate celebrated the cutoff by passing E2SSB 5263 by a vote of 48-0…
Week 9: Spring ahead to the second half of the 2025 session
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Be sure to check out our comprehensive Week 9 Bill Tracker to see how bills we support have fared. Last week, the Legislature crossed the half-way mark of the 105-day session, which means there is still a lot of time left on the calendar to advocate for priorities, share concerns, and…
Act Now: Attend town halls and demand legislators prioritize K-12 funding
Education Funding Crisis: Students across the state need your help! To invest in our future, we must invest in education, yet districts across our state are struggling financially. Funding from our legislature has not kept up with the true costs of education. Our students will continue to be impacted by the loss of staff, programs,…
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative
Week 8: Big 3 Reduced to Big 2 – Amounts Also Reduced
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Friday, February 28 was the final day of consideration for bills that cost the state money to pass out of their respective fiscal committees. Both the House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means Committees worked well into the afternoon Friday, while Transportation committees and the House Capital Budget Committee finished up…
March Checklist for Running Your PTA
Ongoing Tasks Attend any board and membership meetings Read meeting minutes and offer corrections Prepare reports for board and membership meetings Get educated: take advantage of in-person and online training opportunities Be familiar with your responsibilities and fulfill them Review and ask questions about the monthly financial report Actively engage in a plan for membership…
Category:
Leadership
March Checklist for Councils Supporting Local PTAs
Ongoing Tasks Offer support to local PTAs who may be struggling with any of the SOA requirements. Encourage local PTAs in their membership campaigns. Work with your region director to support any local PTAs with fewer than 25 members. Work with your region director to support any local PTAs on the “no president list”. Remind…
Category:
Leadership
WSPTA Awards of Excellence March 13 Deadline Approaches
All WSPTA Awards of Excellence are due March 13th. PTAs in Washington State are doing amazing things and WSPTA wants to see what you are doing and recognize your PTA for doing them. WSPTA Awards of Excellence are easy to apply for. Click here to learn more. Click here to apply. Categories include: Advocacy Award…
Category:
Leadership
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Programs