Although House Bill 2757 might at first glance seem a relatively small measure, don’t let that first glance fool you. In fact, this legislation signed into law by the governor today is quite important.
The bill will make a big difference for the Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) and for the Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss (CDHL). It establishes new accounts for these important institutions. The two vital schools will be able to retain funds — which they have received from grants and awards — beyond a current budget cycle. In the past, those monies would go away at the end of the cycle because WSSB and CDFL didn’t possess the same options that are available for other schools.
Since they are stand-alone agencies, the schools were prevented by our state’s budgetary laws from retaining outside funds they had been awarded. This much-needed legislation prevents big cuts that would have directly affected young people in the schools. Our two Clark County institutions can now make more efficient use of limited resources and better develop additional partnerships in and outside of Washington.
Plain and simple, this bill is an efficiency measure. It allows program-expansion through use of non-general-fund state dollars. The schools can now spend:
* More time solving problems to help students.
* Less time finding ways to work around accounting rules that hindered efficient and effective operations and that impeded the delivery of quality services to students.