AWSP Blog

Now that spring training is kicking off, and there’s a renewed sense of hope for baseball fans across the country, allow me to use a baseball analogy to highlight a possible new tool in your school leadership toolbelt; if you haven’t already, I suggest that busy building leaders call in a “pinch hitter. ” Or, in this case, a substitute administrator to support them. Let me talk through some common baseball strategies connected to what principals can do to ensure they have support in their buildings.

A collective “ugh” was felt by the education community this week at the Capitol as the House and Senate released their supplemental budgets. Education advocates remain concerned by inadequate funding and we are using several talking points from OSPI to help explain why districts are facing shortages.

Both the Senate and the House have been busy with committee hearings as the Feb. 21st deadline for policy bills to be released from committees and the Feb. 26th deadline for fiscal bills approaches. There has been little floor action. Next week debate and floor passage will begin anew and at a rapid pace given the March 1 deadline for bills to clear their respective houses. Little has changed since last week’s report. An up-to-date summary will come next week after the deadline dust has settled.

Members at all levels across the state continue to report that responding to student behavior is the number one issue impacting their own mental health, well-being, job satisfaction, and frankly, willingness to stay in the profession. Living in a constant reactive state to the unknown behaviors that surface daily is draining both emotionally and physically. It’s a pace that is not sustainable or realistic. Something must be done.

Since covering pension/retirement/health insurance issues on behalf of WASA and AWSP, there are a few important points we have learned. This is just a brief summary of selected retirement related topics. However, the importance of advance planning cannot be overstated. These are not issues to put off until the last month of either one’s impending retirement or approaching Medicare eligible age. It’s best to complete your retirement application 30–90 days before you plan to retire.