Last Thursday, December 8, 2022, local superintendents and school district administrators met online with lawmakers to share insight on key issues that impact our region's schools and how they can be addressed to positively impact our districts and communities. 

Two of the key priorities shared amongst the superintendents of ESD 105 were fully funding special education and updating the funding model for staff allocations. The recommendations in these areas have been outlined below. Click here to view all other key priorities. 

1. Fully Fund Special Education - 

   While the state has made an agreement to fully fund education, the current model for providing special education funding to our school districts is inadequate. The allocation for students with disabilities is indexed at 13.5 percent of the resident K-21 full time enrollment. Districts have a legal obligation to provide high-quality services to students with disabilities, regardless of the cost of those services. Therefore, this creates a need for districts to rely on local levies, often imposing higher taxes for district communities, to ensure all students with disabilities receive the services they are entitled to.

    

   Although we recognize the Legislature has taken incremental steps to reduce the special education funding gap in past sessions, we urge the 2023 Legislature to take more deliberate action to eliminate the barriers our schools are facing by removing the 13.5% cap on state special education funding and increasing the special education tiered multiplier to fully cover special education services. Taking this action will secure equitable practices for every student eligible under IDEA.

2. Reinstate the Experience Factor - 

   Since the Legislature discontinued the "staff mix" after the 2017-18 school year, districts have experienced difficulty in budgeting for the recruitment of highly educated and experienced teachers. While research indicates that our most experienced, educated and highly capable teachers have a greater impact on student success, the current model of funding doesn't provide districts the financial resources they need to fund these educators. Providing an allocation based on an average years of experience creates additional barriers for districts, putting them in a position where hiring educators with less experience than their counterparts is favorable for creating sustainable budgets that are not heavily reliant on local levies.

    

   As the compensation system is being rebased to ensure salary allocations align with the actual staffing costs districts incur providing the services required to meet the expectations of the state's basic education program, ESD 105 urges that the Legislature provide districts funding based on the actual experience factor of the staff they employ opposed to an amount calculated based on state average and that you continue the implementation of the Phase I recommendations by improving Prototypical School Funding Model (PSFM) levels for school principals.

Wednesday, January 11, 2022

As you may know, ESD105 is one of the 10 Regional Leads selected to support regional coalitions working to identify community priorities, gaps, opportunities and develop plans to address some of the systemic issues that have led to a reduction in educator workforce.  Most importantly, develop pathways for future teachers and leaders that reflect the diversity of our students.

ESD105’s first LEADER coalition convening is planned for January 11, 2023. We will begin to map ESD105's community assets and local needs and opportunities to transform educational policies, practices, and institutional cultures.

More information about LEADER can be found here:

·         https://www.leaderwa.org/

·         https://collegespark.org/grants/leader-initiative/

We are looking for building administration to attend. Contact Melissa Matczak in interest in participating in this one time event. 

NOW REGISTERING STUDENTS FOR JANUARY 2023 START

The ESD 105 Special Services Transition Team is excited to announce the partnership between the LINK Transition Program with the Yakima Valley Community College. LINK Skills Center will be located on YVC Campus. Starting in January 2023, this first of its kind program in Central Washington, will offer LINK students with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities the opportunity to be a part of a campus college community as well as access to explore college curriculum in a variety of ways. 

We are now accepting referrals. If you are interested in hearing more about the program and/or the enrollment process, please contact ESD 105's Transition Program via email LINK@esd105.org  or by phone at 509-864-7272. 

Native Convening 

Thursday, December 15, 2022

from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Smith Building - Heritage University 

RSVP Required

Contact: Shane Backlund or Henry Strom

Registration Coming Soon! 

We're thrilled to welcome educational leaders from across ESD 105 for the first annual Better Together Leadership Summit this summer on August 2-3, 2023!

This 2-day professional development and networking opportunity will host nationally recognized keynote speakers Dr. Joe Sanfelippo and Hasan Davis as well as breakout sessions to meet individuals' needs in the areas of leadership, equity, teaching and learning, special services, students supports, communications and more! 

More information and the link to register will be coming in early 2023.  In the meantime, save the date and start getting excited! 

Questioning why you're receiving this communication or have ideas for news articles, please contact the ESD 105 public relations & marketing department at brittany.kaple@esd105.org or by phone at (509) 314-5586. 

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