Yesterday the House Appropriations Committee approved the chair’s supplemental operating budget proposal, with amendments. Adopted amendments add $28.5 million to the proposed appropriations increases for 2019–21 (in terms of funds subject to the outlook plus workforce education investment account, or NGFO+WEIA).

With these changes, revised NGFO+WEIA appropriations for 2019–21 would be $54.090 billion—$68.5 million higher than the appropriations passed by the Senate Ways & Means Committee. The chart below compares policy changes among the proposals.

Some of the amendments adopted by the Appropriations Committee include (in terms of the NGFO+WEIA unless otherwise noted):

• $14.4 million to provide $1,000 per student to school districts in SY 2020–21 that have fewer than 650 students and a regionalization factor of at least 1.04. (Based on enrollment projections in the school districts’ four-year budgets, it looks to me like this would apply to 45 districts.)
• $6.0 million to increase the general fund–state (GFS) appropriation to the Universal Communications Services Fund.
• $3.4 million to increase funding for the Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
• $2.2 million to increase local effort assistance for Aberdeen, Auburn, Battle Ground, Shelton, and South Kitsap school districts.
• $1.3 million to use the GFS in lieu of the parks renewal and stewardship account (PRSA). (Additionally, $1.3 million from the litter tax would no longer be annually deposited in the PRSA.)
• $811,000 to support early screening for dyslexia.
• $678,000 to increase the schools eligible for additional high-poverty guidance counselor staffing.
• $644,000 to increase Criminal Justice Training Commission vendor rates.
• A $2.6 million decrease to paraeducator training in the biennium.
• WEIA appropriations made last year for nurse educator salaries would also be allowed to be used for nursing program equipment. (The Senate budget would make a reduction of $4.2 million from the nurse educator salary appropriations.)
• As proposed by the Chair, the supplemental would have appropriated $286,000 from the WEIA for the Education Research and Data Center and $875,000 from the WEIA for career connected learning grants. As passed by the Appropriations Committee, these appropriations would instead be funded from the GFS.
• Family and medical leave insurance account appropriations would increase by $11.8 million to increase funding to $50.9 million for increased staffing in the Paid Medical and Family Leave program.