This is my final Legislative Report for the 2014 Session, which Sue Chew, Elliot Werk and I have written together:

Report for 2014 Legislative Session

The K-12 General Fund Appropriation unfortunately again fails our students and schools. We are more than $175 million short of what we spent in 2008-2009 when new costs for expanded enrollment, health insurance, core curriculum training and inflation are included. The result is overcrowded classrooms, fewer teachers, and higher property taxes.

The K-12 appropriation is up 5.1 per cent but still $43 million less than 2008-2009. But it also fails to account for for 15,000 more students; steep health insurance premium …

The good news is that the “Right to Discriminate Bill” (HB 427) has been shelved.  And the failed private prison experiment is over for now, and with bipartisan support there is some change to the parole system.  The bad news is that education spending and policy should dominate State business, but the majority has directed the focus toward other matters, such as guns on campus, nullification of all EPA regulations, and AG gag bill.  And, instead of a hearing, leaders have engaged in an ongoing …