On Tuesday in Olympia, Governor Gregoire signed into law the education reform legislation that makes highly capable education part of the state’s definition of what constitutes basic education. This change will provide the recognition that our highly capable children deserve, and will provide districts with the confidence to plan and develop their gifted programs for the long term without having to face the risk every two years of losing all state funding during the next budget cycle. The highly capable provisions are scheduled to be implemented in 2011.
The Governor did choose to veto section 709 of the legislation, the section known as the highly capable safety net. That section would have allowed districts to receive funding above and beyond what was provided for in the state budget based on demonstrated need. Senator Roach had proposed the amendment that created the safety net. In her statement explaining her line item veto of that provision, Governor Gregoire wrote that “Much work is left to be done to establish standards, guidelines and definitions for what constitutes a highly capable program and what the funding level should be for such a program.” She feared that 709 would have committed the state to pay for programs before standards for such programs had been agreed upon, and that the provision would have made highly capable funding a higher priority than all other areas of basic education. While we appreciate the intent of 709, highly capable advocates had not requested it – or even known about until it was proposed on the floor of the Senate. Our highest priority items were not affected by the veto of this section.
At home in Puyallup, the two biggest items of the week were the continued testing of prospective students for next year and the kick-off of our Second On-Line Auction. Last year’s auction brought in over $2,500, and we’d love to exceed that this year. If you’d rather make a donation to ABC, and not bid on an item, for the first time ever we have a pledge to match up to the first $500 donated by our members. Your $20 becomes $40. Your $50 becomes $100. Make a donation today and double your money! ABC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donation is tax deductible.
Thank you also for your Gift Cents orders. We’re processing your paperwork now, and will submit our order to Gift Cents to get your gift cards back to you as soon as we can.
This is what was posted at www.questabc.org over the last seven days:
Bidding for our second on-line auction opened on Monday, 5/18 at 8:00am. Be sure to check out the great variety of items we have waiting for your bids. From Webkinz to wine tasting, from scrapbooking to Seahawks, there’s something for everyone. Remember, in the event of a tie, the earliest bid received wins the item. Don’t miss out on the item you [...]
Welcome to the 2009 Academic Booster Club Auction! We have thirty items posted and waiting for your bids. Remember, in the event of a tie for high bid on an item, the first bid received wins. Get your bids in early! Additional items and class baskets will be available at the QUEST Open House on June 4th. […}
