The most significant spending difference between the budgets passed by the House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means committees is that the W&M budget would fully fund the increase in school staff salaries in SY 2018–19 and the Appropriations budget would not.

Walker Orenstein of The News Tribune notes that Appropriations chair Timm Ormsby has now introduced a striking amendment to the budget passed by Appropriations on Wednesday. The effects of the striker are summarized on page 409.

The two biggest changes are that it would fully fund the school staff salary increases in SY 2018–19 ($775.4 million) and it would change the school district apportionment schedule (saving $609.1 million). Both the budget passed by the Senate Ways & Means Committee and the budget proposed by Gov. Inslee would fully fund the salary increases, and Gov. Inslee’s proposal would also make the apportionment change.

The striker would no longer increase funding for family involvement coordinators and middle school guidance counselors. Like the W&M budget, it would delay professional learning days. Altogether these public schools changes would increase spending by $75.6 million.

The Appropriations budget includes a transfer of $1.070 billion from the general fund to the education legacy trust account to signal to the state Supreme Court that although it doesn’t fully fund the salary increases for SY 2018–19, the funds are there to do so as planned in SY 2019–20. The striker would cancel that transfer.

Additionally, the striker would reduce general fund spending for wildfire costs, under the assumption that they would be appropriated from the budget stabilization account (as in the W&M budget). There are also changes made to the Health Care Authority that would reduce spending by $68.5 million.