LOS ANGELES - Two bills that would have authorized bonding for school construction failed to pass the Washington state legislature before it adjourned its 60-day session on Thursday.
However, the legislature did approve a supplemental budget that would add more money to basic education.
The bipartisan budget passed in an 85-13 vote in the House, then in the Senate in a 48-1 vote.
The budget would send an extra $58 million to public schools around the state for books and supplies, and an extra $25 million on "Opportunity Scholarships" for college students.
It also includes $22 million for mental health services and $4 million to expand prison capacity.
After the legislature adjourned, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said that while there were some important health care and education items delivered to his desk, the session ended with some important work left undone.
In particular, he said there was not enough done in the final budget to address the state's constitutional obligation to adequately fund education.
"I appreciate that we took at least a small step forward, but given how big our challenge is, it's very disappointing the Legislature did not take the court or our obligation to our children more seriously, nor did they include a long overdue cost-of-living adjustment for our teachers," Inslee said. "We're going to be faced with some very difficult choices next year."
While legislators approved about $1 billion in new education funding last year, the state Supreme Court, which had already ruled the state is underfunding basic education, issued a new order in January that the state was not moving fast enough to meet its own funding timelines and called for immediate action.
There were two bipartisan bills introduced in the legislature this session that would have increased funding for school construction with proceeds from bond issuances. Both failed to reach the governor's desk.
House Bill 2797, which would have authorized the issuance of $700 million of lottery revenue bonds for school construction, passed in the house earlier this month, but failed to make it to the Senate floor.
State Treasurer Jim McIntire had expressed concern over issuing lottery revenue bonds, saying such debt would be outside the state's constitutional debt limit and would be a credit negative for the state.
Senate Bill 6483, which would have authorized the sale of $825 million in general obligation bonds to modernize science, technology, engineering and mathematics facilities, fund all-day kindergarten, and reduce K-3 class sizes, also failed to pass in the Senate.
