After hearing public testimony this afternoon, the Senate Ways & Means will take up any amendments to what has been touted as a "bipartisan approach" to reduce the funding gap for this fiscal year. The hearing is live on TVW.
Meanwhile, the House Ways & Means is getting a briefing on how the Senate budget proposal differs from what passed the House last month.
The biggest difference in K-12 is the reduced amount of K-4 class size funding (House cut by $42 million; Senate proposes $25 million). No real changes to the early learning department's budget, but some more significant changes to the higher education system, including cutting state-funded research and making a tuition transfer of $25.3 million for financial aid.
In addition, the House proposed a $5 million contingency fund for school districts that might have a challenge meeting financial obligations in this school year; the Senate reduces that fund to $2.5 million.
Updates on the Legislature and state government from the Washington State School Directors' Association.
