BILL REQ. #: H-1167.1
State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
Read first time 02/05/2003. Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to cost-of-living adjustments in basic education salary allocations for certificated instructional staff; amending RCW 28A.400.200 and 28A.400.205; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that large and growing
disparities in the cost-of-living among regions of the state have
resulted in widely disparate purchasing power of salaries for
certificated instructional staff supported by basic education
allocations. The legislature declares that in the interest of
recruiting and retaining qualified instructional staff in all regions
of the state, and of ensuring continuous compliance with Article IX,
section 2 of the state Constitution, that basic education salary
allocations should be adjusted on an ongoing basis for differences in
the cost-of-living among regions of the state, as determined through a
rigorous method of economic analysis.
Sec. 2 RCW 28A.400.200 and 2002 c 353 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Every school district board of directors shall fix, alter,
allow, and order paid salaries and compensation for all district
employees in conformance with this section.
(2)(a) Salaries for certificated instructional staff shall not be
less than the salary provided in the appropriations act in the
statewide salary allocation schedule for an employee with a
baccalaureate degree and zero years of service; and
(b) Salaries for certificated instructional staff with a masters
degree shall not be less than the salary provided in the appropriations
act in the statewide salary allocation schedule for an employee with a
masters degree and zero years of service;
(3) The legislative evaluation and accountability program, in
consultation with the state office of the forecast council, shall
establish and maintain a set of economic indicators for the purpose of
adjusting the statewide salary allocation schedule by a statewide cost-of-living index. The economic indicators shall include but not
necessarily be limited to the median cost of housing.
(a) Not later than July 1, 2004, the legislative evaluation and
accountability program shall submit the statewide cost-of-living index
to an advisory committee for its review. The advisory panel shall be
appointed by the governor, and shall consist of one member representing
the office of financial management, one member representing the
employment security department, one member representing the office of
the superintendent of public instruction, and three representatives of
the private sector having demonstrated expertise in regional economics.
The advisory committee shall not receive compensation for performance
of its duties but may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance
with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2004, the advisory committee created
under this section shall submit to the director of the legislative
evaluation and accountability program written comment on the proposed
statewide cost-of-living index. The written comment shall include but
shall not be limited to an evaluation of the extent to which the
proposed cost-of-living index. The written comment shall include but
shall not be limited to an evaluation of the extent to which the
proposed cost-of-living index meets the intent of chapter ..., Laws of
2003 (this act), and any recommendations for revision to the index or
its components.
(c) Not later than January 15, 2005, the director of the
legislative evaluation and accountability program shall submit the
statewide cost-of-living index to the governor, the chairs and ranking
minority members of the senate committees on ways and means and
education, and the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of
representatives committees on appropriations and education. The
statewide cost-of-living index shall be deemed approved unless rejected
by resolution of both houses of the legislature.
(d) The legislative evaluation and accountability program shall
collect and maintain data on the economic activity comprising the
statewide cost-of-living index for geographic areas of the state
coterminous with the boundaries of the nine educational service
districts established under RCW 28A.310.010. The legislative
evaluation and accountability program shall, on a semiannual basis,
provide a report to the office of financial management, the office of
the superintendent of public instruction, and the chairs and ranking
members of the senate committees on ways and means and education and
the house of representatives committees on appropriations and education
summarizing the data by educational service district and identifying
significant changes in its findings from previous reports.
(e) Beginning with appropriations for the school year beginning
September 1, 2005, and for each subsequent school year, the legislative
evaluation and accountability program shall adjust the statewide salary
allocation schedule provided in RCW 28A.400.200(2), for each
educational service district, on the basis of the cost-of-living index
established under (c) of this subsection. The index shall be applied
in each educational service district as a fraction of the statewide
average cost-of-living index.
(f) The legislative evaluation and accountability program, in
consultation with the office of financial management and the office of
the superintendent of public instruction, shall on a biennial basis
identify the changes in the cost-of-living index from the previous two-year period for each educational service district of the state. The
legislative evaluation and accountability program shall also, on a
biennial basis, report on any changes it deems necessary and
appropriate in the manner in which the cost-of-living index is
calculated and applied.
(4)(a) The actual average salary paid to certificated instructional
staff shall not exceed the district's average certificated
instructional staff salary used for the state basic education
allocations for that school year as determined pursuant to RCW
28A.150.410.
(b) Fringe benefit contributions for certificated instructional
staff shall be included as salary under (a) of this subsection only to
the extent that the district's actual average benefit contribution
exceeds the amount of the insurance benefits allocation provided per
certificated instructional staff unit in the state operating
appropriations act in effect at the time the compensation is payable.
For purposes of this section, fringe benefits shall not include payment
for unused leave for illness or injury under RCW 28A.400.210; employer
contributions for old age survivors insurance, workers' compensation,
unemployment compensation, and retirement benefits under the Washington
state retirement system; or employer contributions for health benefits
in excess of the insurance benefits allocation provided per
certificated instructional staff unit in the state operating
appropriations act in effect at the time the compensation is payable.
A school district may not use state funds to provide employer
contributions for such excess health benefits.
(c) Salary and benefits for certificated instructional staff in
programs other than basic education shall be consistent with the salary
and benefits paid to certificated instructional staff in the basic
education program.
(((4))) (5) Salaries and benefits for certificated instructional
staff may exceed the limitations in subsection (((3))) (4) of this
section only by separate contract for additional time, additional
responsibilities, or incentives. Supplemental contracts shall not
cause the state to incur any present or future funding obligation.
Supplemental contracts shall be subject to the collective bargaining
provisions of chapter 41.59 RCW and the provisions of RCW 28A.405.240,
shall not exceed one year, and if not renewed shall not constitute
adverse change in accordance with RCW 28A.405.300 through 28A.405.380.
No district may enter into a supplemental contract under this
subsection for the provision of services which are a part of the basic
education program required by Article IX, section 3 of the state
Constitution.
(((5))) (6) Employee benefit plans offered by any district shall
comply with RCW 28A.400.350 and 28A.400.275 and 28A.400.280.
Sec. 3 RCW 28A.400.205 and 2001 c 4 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) School district employees shall be provided an annual salary
cost-of-living increase in accordance with this section.
(a) The cost-of-living increase shall be calculated by applying the
rate of the yearly increase in the cost-of-living index to any state-funded salary base used in state funding formulas for teachers and
other school district employees. Beginning with the 2001-02 school
year, and for each subsequent school year, each school district shall
be provided a cost-of-living allocation sufficient to grant this cost-of-living increase for the salaries, including mandatory salary-related
benefits, of all employees of the district.
(b) A school district shall distribute its cost-of-living
allocation for salaries and salary-related benefits in accordance with
the district's salary schedules, collective bargaining agreements, and
compensation policies. No later than the end of the school year, each
school district shall certify to the superintendent of public
instruction that it has spent funds provided for cost-of-living
increases on salaries and salary-related benefits. Beginning with the
2005-06 school year and each subsequent school year, the cost-of-living
allocation to each district for certificated instructional staff shall
be adjusted by the cost-of-living index established for each
educational service district of the state under RCW 28A.400.200. In no
case may adjustment by the cost-of-living index cause the base contract
salary of any individual certificated instructional staff to be lower
than the base contract salary for the previous school year.
(c) Any funded cost-of-living increase shall be included in the
salary base used to determine cost-of-living increases for all school
employees in subsequent years. For teachers and other certificated
instructional staff, the rate of the annual cost-of-living increase
funded for certificated instructional staff shall be applied to the
base salary used with the statewide salary allocation schedule
established under RCW 28A.150.410 and to any other salary models used
to recognize school district personnel costs.
(d) Beginning with the 2001-02 school year, the state shall fully
fund the cost-of-living increase in this section as part of its
obligation to meet the basic education requirements under Article IX of
the Washington Constitution.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "cost-of-living index" means,
for any school year, the previous calendar year's annual average
consumer price index, using the official current base, compiled by the
bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor for the
state of Washington. If the bureau of labor statistics develops more
than one consumer price index for areas within the state, the index
covering the greatest number of people, covering areas exclusively
within the boundaries of the state, and including all items shall be
used for the cost-of-living index in this section.