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It Can be Done!How to Pass Legislation: A Real Case Study1Who We Are...

Neal KirbyCentraliaRuss Pfeiffer-HoytMount BakerLee Anne RiddleFerndale2What We DidWorked with many others to PASS legislation reinstating Basic Education money to 83 districts who receive Federal Forest Apportionment funds.

3How We Did It Great relationships Clear messaging Good timing Pit bull-like tenacity4Today we will talk aboutHow this startedFederal Forest Apportionment backgroundWho helpedSteps takenResults at end of 2014 Legislative SessionNext stepsbecause we arent finished!

Plus, give you a chance to apply this to your own district.

5How This StartedIn June of 2012, Whatcom County Directors and Superintendents from all 7 districts invited our senators and representatives to an all-county meeting.And most of them attended!

Whatcom County has both the 40th and 42nd legislative districts within our borders. Senator Ericksen and Representatives Buys and Overstreet came from the 42nd District, Kris Lytton came from the 40th.6At the MeetingAfter hearing about our successes and our challenges, Senator Doug Ericksen offered to work with us to write legislation that would help school districts in the process of educating our students.

We couldnt pass up this offer!7Picking the Right Issue for Senator EricksenWith advice from Marie Sullivan, we settled on an issue that Russ knew a lot about and that Marie thought Senator Ericksen could get behind.

8Federal Forest ApportionmentSources of the funds:1906 and 1908 through the Agriculture Appropriations Act2000 through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act

Initially, approved by congress in 1906 to mitigate the negative economic impact of federal forest lands on rural communities. As those revenues declined, they were replaced with funds from the SRSCSDA of 2000.

9Purpose of the FundsReceived in place of property taxes that cannot be collected from federal landsSimilar to Impact Aid paid for military bases, federal dam sites,and reservations

10In WashingtonBasic Education funding is deducted $ for $ equal to the Federal Forest Apportionment districts receive

We are the only state receiving Federal Forest Apportionment funds that does this to districts

11This Happens to over 200 Districts

Federal Forest Apportionment dollars come in

Exact same amount of Basic Education dollars deducted12What that Looks Like for Some DistrictsMount Baker$32,494Ferndale$89,960Centralia$322,795Castle Rock$5,987Kittitas$44,926Port Angeles$205,628Ellensburg$211,336Wenatchee$462,652

There is a wide range of $ amounts owed to districts across the state. Amounts range from $1 to over $400,000.13In 2014.

$8.3 Million

$8.3 MillionHad we done nothing, $8.3 million in Federal Forest Apportionment for 2014 was slated to leave our districts.14Another Negative ConsequenceBesides less money for the children in our districts, it also reduces our levy base which reduces how much money we can ask for from our voters.

15What Educational Issues are Important to You and Your District?

While we know we all want adequate funding for education, we will have to get there by taking small steps. Our Federal Forest Apportionment work is one of those small steps. Thinking about the priorities we set through our legislative process at WSSDA and thinking about your own district, what steps can you think of that we could work on through the legislature?16Key Partners

Rep. Kathy Haigh

This is a common-sense reform that reflects our common values.http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/kathy-haigh/haigh-reform-would-help-timber-communities-and-schools/Another major factor in our success was the relationships we had with key partners. While Senator Ericksen helped us start this process, it was Representative Kathy Haigh who championed our concerns in the House.17Bill SponsorsSB 5986: Ericksen, Braun, King, Honeyford, Bailey, Parlette

HB 2207: Haigh, Orcutt, Haler, Tharinger, Blake, Short, Van De Wege, Fagan, Magendanz, and Buys

Very important to find other legislators to co-sponsor the bills.18More Key PartnersWSSDA, including Marie Sullivan and Will ClarkWSSDA Trust Land Task ForceWhatcom County board members and suptsLeg reps and sups from around the stateWSSDA Board of DirectorsAnd even Lee Annes book group and Face Book friends

Besides Senator Ericksen and Representative Haigh, there were many other key partners including.19Who are Your Key Partners?

What I learned from this is that you have to think outside the box and engage those that would not normally be part of legislative advocacy for your district. Take a minute to brainstorm who you would talk to. Who could help you spread the word and get your message out?20Clear MessagingThis money comes from the federal government to districts for a specific reasonIt is the first mitigation money passed by congress to lessen the impact on communities from a federal environmental decisionDeduction of Basic Education funds by the state is wrongThese are critical funds for some of our poorest communitiesChanging this practice is one way for our legislators to show intent to comply with the McCleary decision

We believe that another factor in our success was clear messaging. For us, those messages included21A Roller Coaster Ride

This experience was like a roller coaster ride with many ups and downsit was doing well, it was deadwait no, it is alive again!22Timing is Everything

It was important to send our messages in many ways AND it was crucial to send those messages at certain times to be most effective.23

Many Actions

And Repeat!When I told my daughter we were doing this presentation, she said well thats easy.you emailed, made phone calls, and drove to Olympia.and then you did it all over again, and again.24And This

https://www.flickr.com/photos/28652161@N08/4326966615/in/photostream/In Olympia, we waited outside chamber doors and legislators doors. We talked strategy, made plans, testified again and again, and debriefedthen planned next steps.25And This

http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2023076747_nealkirbyopedtimbereducationmoneyxxxml.htmlWe used the power of social media and traditional media to raise awareness, distribute our messages and rally supporters.26Ripple Effect

It is so important to connect and reconnect with others to spread your message.Our hope was that each contact we made would cause a ripple effect spreading our messages across the state.27How will you connect with others?

Brainstorm and share with group28Final DaysHouse97 to 0Senate47 to 2

Need actual numbersanyone remember?29Ta Da!!!!!

30Our Results

$6.3 Million

$8.3 MillionAs a result of our work, $8.3 million in Federal Forest Apportionment for 2014 came into our districts, but now only $6.3 million is deducted from Basic Education funds. So while we didnt get all we had hoped for, we changed the what is possible.31$2 Million Remained in 83 schools districts with 57% or more free and reduced lunch ratesCapped at $70,000

So while it wasnt all of the money we had hoped for, it was a huge step in reversing the practice of deducting Basic Ed dollars from some of our poorest districts.32

Our Next StepsGo back to our legislators and finish what we started:Remove F&R % limitRemove $70,000 cap

We need your help!!!!!

This coming year we will be coming back and asking that all Basic Ed funding is restored to the districts who receive the Federal Forest funds. Please look for our emails. 33We Will Do It With Great relationships Clear messaging Good timing Pit bull-like tenacity34What are Your Next Steps?

You can do this!

We did!Encourage them to think about next steps, but dont give them timejust move to thank yous.35Thank you to.WSSDAMarie SullivanWill ClarkDoug EricksenKathy HaighAll the folks who wrote letters, sent emails, made phone calls and drove to Olympia36Our Contact InformationNeal Kirby neal.kirby@hotmail.comRuss Pfeiffer-Hoytsaxoncreek@msn.comLee Anne Riddleleeanne.riddle@ferndalesd.org

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