This measure requires funding of automatic, across-the-board, annual salary increases at rates equal to the prior year rate of inflation for all K-12 employees and community and technical college staff. Beginning in 2001-2002 school districts and community and technical college districts would be required to spend their cost of living allocations on salary adjustments. 

• Would require funding of automatic, across the board, annual salary increases at rates equal to the prior year rate of inflation (Consumer Price Index for Seattle) for all K-12 employees and community and technical college staff.
• Beginning in 2001-2002, school districts and community and technical college districts would be required to spend their cost of living allocations on salary adjustments.

• Keep well-qualified educators from leaving teaching for other professions (due to failure of salaries to keep up the with increased cost-of-living in the state)
• Have salary levels that attract the best teachers and school employee for the children of Washington.

• Provide an annual salary cost of living increase for school district employees.
• Require the state to fully fund the increase.
• Include as school employees:* 
  • academic employees of community & technical colleges
  • Classified employees of technical colleges
  • All employees of school districts

Affected Employees

Teachers have gotten salary increases through the legislature, although for 4 of the last 7 years there have been no increases.

Arguments For and Against

• YEARLY RAISES - Teachers would be assured of raises every year, not based on Legislation
• PUBLIC SUPPORT - Teachers and school employees would be “recognized” as special
• Employees deserving special compensation

• GOALS - The goal of “keeping well-qualified teachers” does not match the strategy of assuring raises for ALL school employees. Also, for salaries so far below industry standards, a COLA increase will hardly have a dramatic effect.
• METHOD - There is no directive to the legislature to come up with the money.
• ADVISABILITY - Again, this could be an excuse for the legislature to fail to “catch up not just keep up” teacher wages.
• PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATION - We question the fairness of separating out one group of state employees for yearly COLA increase.

The Municipal League Board has taken a position in opposition to Initiative 732, and recommends a "No" vote.

Rationale

While we see the enormity of the problem, we feel this initiative is not only misguided but also deceptive. The overwhelming support for the Initiative campaign came from a public that saw this measure as a fail-safe way to pay our public school teachers an equitable salary. This initiative does not focus on teachers and does not provide a solution to substantially raising teacher salaries. It does not do what it purports to do.

We believe that teachers in our schools, community colleges and public universities are substantially underpaid, from 25% to nearly 1.00% according to some comparative studies. This “under-compensation” is a severe threat to the future of public education in this state, to recruitment and retention of quality teachers and to access to quality education for the ever- increasing numbers who seek education. Teacher compensation becomes even more important as we move to reduce class size, raise tests scores, use competency testing, and improve accountability. While our teachers have more than earned an increase, this initiative doesn’t even begin to do the job necessary. If it passes it may leave the public and the legislature with the impression that we took care of the problem. Worse yet, if it fails, it may leave the impression that there is no problem.

As with so many things on the ballot this year, Initiative 732 distorts a complex issue and complicates, maybe even prevents, doing it right. Public Education, K through graduate school, is the largest single budget item in our state budget, especially if you count the role of social services and transportation in supporting education. Our state Constitution states that making ample provision for the education of all children is the “paramount duty” of our state government. Yet, according to the New York Times (1/12/00) we rank 46th in the country for “doing enough to ensure good teachers get into the classroom and to keep them there.”