WASHINGTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ACHIEVES SEPARATE LINE ITEM FOR SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIALS WITH A $20 PER FTE ALLOCATION, BUT ACTION IS STILL NEEDED! Although the specific school library bills failed to make it past the legislative cut off dates, WLA was successful in getting language amended into the major school funding bill, E2SSB 6362 that accomplished a major goal.  The prototypical school allocations for materials, supplies and operating costs (MSOC) now have a separate line item for “library materials” and $20/FTE allocated in that line item.  While this is not a mandate that districts spend $20 per student on library materials, it does provide legislative intent regarding spending on library materials and it provides greater accountability on library spending in districts and schools. WLA has been trying to get “library materials” separated from “other supplies” in the MSOC cost allocations for a number of years.  We are very pleased to finally have this change pass the Legislature.  This happened thanks to the hard work of several legislators, including Rep. Monica Stonier (D-49).  It also happened because of the calls and emails you all sent to your legislators urging this change. E2SSB 6362 now goes to the Governor.  The full bill implements the last of the McCleary decision changes — pushing $775 additional dollars into teacher salaries in this biennium and an additional $937 million over the next four years.  For a full summary of what this bill does, just follow this link: http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2017-18/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/6362-S2.E%20HBR%20APH%2018.pdf. What you can do now is to call or email* the Governor’s office and urge him to “Please Sign E2SSB 6362” and make the Library MSOC change law.  

• Write Governor Jay Inslee Office of the Governor PO Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504-0002
• Call 360-902-4111 TTY/TDD call 711 or 1-800-833-6388.
• Fax 360-753-4110

*This is a reminder of RCW prohibitions on lobbying using public time or equipment.  Please be sure to make your calls to the Governor on your own time and using your personal communications devices. Washington Library Association PO Box 33808 Seattle, WA 98133 (206) 823-1138 www.wla.org The Washington Library Association leads, advocates, educates, and connects.