HB 1300

Brief Description: Creating the reinvesting in our colleges program.

Sponsors: Representatives Tarleton, Pollet, Bergquist, Sells, Dolan, Pellicciotti, Frame, Entenman, Stanford, Lovick, Orwall, Appleton, Ryu, Valdez, Goodman, Lekanoff, Macri, Jinkins, Leavitt, Thai and Wylie.

Hearing Date: 1/29/19

Staff: Trudes Tango (786-7384).

Background:

The Legislature appropriates state funds to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and the SBCTC uses an allocation model to distribute funds to the CTCs. In general, the allocation model is based on actual enrollments, performance funding, and extra weighting for priority enrollments, and it includes a minimum operating allocation, which gives each college a certain amount as maintenance. The community and technical colleges (CTCs) received $1.5B in state funds in 2017-19.

There are 16,346 state-funded, unduplicated employees working in the CTC system, and 5,755 are part-time faculty. There are 19,244 all-fund, unduplicated employees in the CTC system, and of those, 6,150 are part-time faculty. As of fall 2018, there were approximately 225,000 students enrolled in the CTCs.

There are approximately 117 faculty counselors in the CTC system. There is no statutory definition of "counselor" for purposes of CTC employees, and some colleges have employees under titles such as "advisors" and "education planners."

The Department of Corrections (DOC) contracts with the SBCTC to provide educational programs in the state correctional facilities. The CTC employees operating in the DOC facilities are paid out of the annual contracts negotiated with the DOC.

Summary of Bill:

For the 2019-2021 biennium, allocations of state funds must be made to the CTCs, in addition to the maintenance level amounts determined by the Legislature. For each biennium thereafter, allocations must be included in maintenance level funding.

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) must create a formula to distribute the allocations to the CTCs to be used for specific purposes. The use of the money is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining.

The CTCs must use the money as follows:

• to establish an office of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or if an office is already established, to enhance the office. No less than $200,000 must be used by each college for this purpose;

• to provide additional compensation for faculty and staff who work with incarcerated populations. No less than $1.5 million must be used for this purpose within the CTC system;

• to fund 125 additional counselor positions across the system at a ratio of no less than one counselor for every 900 students;

• to increase compensation to attract and retain faculty and staff, as defined in collective bargaining agreements;

• to convert part-time faculty positions to full-time faculty positions, as defined in collective bargaining agreements;

• to commit to achieving pay equity in faculty compensation by reducing the gap between compensation for part-time faculty and full-time faculty within a college. No less than $15 million dollars must be used for this purpose; and

• to provide professional development funding for faculty and staff, including cultural competency training consistent with each college's annual fiscal plans and as defined in collective bargaining agreements.

A CTC may not use more than five percent of its allocated amount for indirect costs to administer the money allocated.

Each CTC must report to the SBCTC regarding the use of moneys allocated, and the SBCTC must submit annual reports, beginning Dec. 1, 2020, to the appropriate committees of the Legislature.

A total of $500 million is appropriated for the 2019-21 biennium.

Appropriation: The sum of $500 million.

Fiscal Note: Requested on January 23, 2019.

Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect on July 1, 2019.