Mercer Islanders Advocate in Olympia for Education

Local education leaders are hoping their message was heard as they advocated for Mercer Island schools during a March 2 visit to Olympia.

A group of ten representatives of the (including administrators, school board directors and one teacher), local PTAs and the

During the course of the day, Mercer Island's "citizen lobbyists" met with 41st District Representative Marcie Maxwell (D-Renton) and Senator Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island), as well as 48th District Representative Ross Hunter (D-Bellevue) and House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington). 

The group’s key message points included opposition to Representative Hunter’s proposal to reduce local levy authority and protecting education funding in the budget. 

Earlier last month, local Mercer Island High School PTSA members issued an alert about the proposed reduction in levy authority:

"The supplemental budget released this week by Ross Hunter, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, contemplates a reduction in Local Effort Assistance (LEA) from 14% to 12% beginning in August 2013. LEA is state funding for school districts that are not able to pass their fully authorized levies; this cut would not directly impact Mercer Island. However, in connection with this reduction in LEA, the budget also contemplates reducing maximum levy percentages for local revenue by 4%, beginning in January 2014. This reduction would cost our school district $1.5 million annually in local funding."

Since that time, the regular session ended after the State Senate passed a budget written by minority Republicans on March 3, while the house passed its budget on March 8 (including Hunter's levy authorization reduction), ending in a stalemate.

According to non-partisan Legislative budget staff from the Office of Financial Management, the State House budget would increase K-12 state funding by $11 million, while the State Senate budget would reduce K-12 state funding by $43 million.

The State Legislature is now in a 30-day special session which began Monday, March 12 in order to pass a budget.

— This article was based on information submitted by the MI PTA co-Council Legislation and Advocacy Jackie Brown