Brief Summary of Bill

Directs the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to include in its biennial budget request, funding to cover academic employee salary increments.
Specifies that the SBCTC's biennial budget request be based on 0.8 percent of the academic employees' salary plus the value of associated benefits.
Provides for how turnover savings and increments may be generated by and allocated between full-time and part-time faculty.
Allows general salary increase funding and increment funding to be combined to increase academic employee increments.

Background:

Salary increments are pay increases based on years of service and, in some pay systems, additional education. In some cases employees receive increments even if there is no state funding provided specifically for that purpose. For example, classified employees in the state personnel system receive 5 percent increments for each year of service (up to a cap). The Legislature assumes that state agencies can pay the costs through savings from employee turnover or other resources. Classified staff in the K-12 system receive increments based on local collective bargaining agreements, but the state funding formulas for K-12 are not adjusted based on these costs. School districts rely on turnover savings and other resources. Certificated instructional staff in the K-12 system receive increments based on years of service and education. In this case, the state funding formulas specifically recognize the costs school districts incur through the statewide salary schedule. Salaries for faculty at community and technical colleges are also established through local collective bargaining agreements. Most salary schedules provide for increments based on some combination of years of service and education. However, state law limits salary increases provided through collective bargaining agreements to the amount or percentage established by the Legislature in the omnibus appropriations act and allocated to the boards of trustees by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). As a result, community and technical colleges may not use turnover savings or other resources to pay for faculty salary increases without a special authorization.For at least the last 10 years, the Legislature provided funding for community and technical college faculty increments through provisions in the biennial budget. The budget bills have given special authorization to community and technical colleges to use turnover savings to help fund faculty increments.

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Summary of Bill:

The Legislature intends that consistent and predictable state funding be provided for community and technical college academic employee salary increases. The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) must include in its biennial budget request an amount sufficient to grant academic employee increments. The biennial budget request of the SBCTC will be based on 0.8 percent of the academic employees' salary plus the value of associated benefits.

The SBCTC will determine how to allocate to the community and technical colleges the appropriations granted for increments, provided that the appropriations generated by part-time faculty salary and benefits are used for part-time faculty increments. How the appropriations are allocated at the district level is subject to collective bargaining.

Turnover-savings for full-time faculty are generated only when full-time faculty replace full-time faculty. Similarly, turnover-savings for part-time faculty are generated only when part-time faculty replace part-time faculty. Part-time turnover-savings may only be allocated to part-time faculty. Salary increments allocated due to part-time faculty salaries may be used for part-time general salary increases.

Boards of trustees may combine general salary increase funding with increment funding to increase academic employee increments. To the extent that general salary funding is used to increase increments, the general salary increase will be reduced by the same amount.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This is a very carefully crafted agency request bill. This bill has been before the committee many times and it has been carefully refined. All parties have agreed to this piece of legislation. Other state workers have increment pay carried forward as part of their maintenance-level budget, community and technical colleges don't get that and have to keep coming before the Legislature to ask. This bill is about equity and fairness. This bill is also about colleges making and keeping promises to their employees. Right now, we lay out a pay plan for potential employees but have to hedge our bets because we don't know if we'll get the increment money. However, we ask them to commit to us and sign a contract. It just isn't fair to the employees. We want to recognize this as good public policy. We also want our community colleges to be competitive with neighboring states and countries. We conducted a year-long study and did find that our employees need to be paid more. This is key to developing and attracting faculty and requires a predictable and steady funding stream.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Sells, prime sponsor; Sandra Schroeder, AFT Washington; Wendy Rader-Konofalski, Washington Education Association; Charlie Earl and John Boesenberg, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Tana Hasart, Pierce College; Gerald Pumphrey, South Puget Sound Community College; Fred Whang, Tacoma Community College; Margaret Rojas, Skagit Valley College; and Peter Crane, Olympic College.