Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director
(360) 956-3482

Bergeson flunks Budget 101

By Bob Williams, President
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Terry Bergeson has called Governor Gary Locke's budget "devastating" and said the cuts would undermine a decade of progress in education. But Bergeson has been absent in the debate about how to solve the budget deficit. Her office didn't even turn in a budget for special education—a $1.3 billion per biennium budget item! In addition, Bergeson refused to participate in the governor's new priority-based budgeting system, telling her staff not to comply with the budget director's instructions to sort all programs into high, medium or low priorities. And she did this while complaining about the governor's education priorities!

Despite the fact that K-12 spending accounts for 44 percent of all state general fund expenditures, the governor cannot force the state superintendent—an independently elected official—to comply with his budget directives. This means a huge portion of the budget does not have executive oversight.

Compounding her refusal to participate in the governor's prioritization review, Bergeson was a "no-show" when the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) held a hearing on its audit of the special education program. The audit revealed that the Superintendent has no means to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. No corrective action has been taken to resolve JLARC's findings.

Actions Needed:
1. Legislators need to enforce meaningful accountability measures for the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The SPI should submit a priority-based budget and should be responsive to executive oversight.

2. Legislators should seriously consider putting K-12's budget functions, nearly half of the state's expenditures, under the direct control of the governor.

3. Members of the public should call Bergeson's office and demand accountable and responsible budgeting: (360) 725-6000.

4. Citizens should call their legislators and let them know they want meaningful accountability in the office of the SPI. Contact information for legislators can be found at www.washingtonvotes.org.

Bob Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a non-profit public policy research organization based in Olympia.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org