Governor's Budget Threatens Office of the Education Ombudsman! Last week, Governor
Gregoire presented a Supplemental Budget calling for more than $2
billion in spending cuts which included a devastating
28% annual budget cut to
the Office of the Education Ombudsman. This reduction in operating
expenses will turn OEO into tiny office unable to effectively serve
state-wide parents, students and schools.
The Governor’s budget
proposal is now House Bill 2127 which is currently in front of the House
of Representatives and the Senate for hearings and debates.
The Office of the Education
Ombudsman is mentioned in page 11 of HB 2127. It shows OEO’s current
small budget of $547,000 and the proposed reduction which will leave us
with $404,000 annually to run the office.
Minuscule figures like these are referred to as “budget dust” in
government circles.
In its 5 years of
existence, OEO has saved millions of dollars to parents and school
districts by preventing costly lawsuits and administrative hearings, has
kept students from dropping out, and helped children with
disabilities get their educational needs met. The return for the
State’s minuscule investment is huge. Here is our latest Annual Report
and Recommendations for more information:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/oeo/reports/2011_annual_report.pdf We are thankful that OEO has been kept in the Governor’s budget. But we have two concerns:
1. We are still vulnerable
to be completely eliminated by the legislature. If OEO is eliminated,
there will be no place for parents to call when they have problems with
their schools. Nowhere to turn to.
2. We will be unable to
operate effectively with $400,000 per year. The waiting list for
parents to be assisted by an Ombudsman will be very, very long.
We need your help right now!
Please contact both the
Senate and House Ways and Means Committees and your legislator
immediately by sending an e-mail, calling their Olympia office directly,
or by calling the Legislative Hotline at
1-800-562-6000.
Tell them that you support the Governor's proposal to keep OEO in the budget and urge
them to continue to keep OEO as a good investment of public funds.
However, they should not cut our budget. Urge them to keep
OEO's budget at its current the level: $547,000 annually. If you
have a personal story about OEO, please give them a short summary.
Please forward this message to your social network circles and ask them
for their help. Thank you! | WASHINGTON STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
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