[PL-Directors] Update on the Ready to Read Grant Program

[Jim Scheppke]

Dear Directors:
As you plan your budgets for 2011-12, I thought I would give you an update on where things stand in the Legislature with the Ready to Read Grant program.

Governor Kitzhaber's budget proposal, released in February, restores funding for the Ready to Read Grant program to what it was at the beginning of the 2009-11 biennium, approximately 94 cents per child per year. This is an increase from 67 cents per child, which was the amount after two across the board reductions last year. However, the Governor proposed moving the funds to a new state department, called the Early Learning Council, which would consolidate all early childhood programs funded by the state.

Today the Co-Chairs of the Legislative Ways and Means Committee released their recommendations for the 2011-13 budget. They will instruct the Ways and Means subcommittees to put back the early childhood funds in the agencies that Governor Kitzhaber's budget takes them from. They want to wait to see the plans that emerge for the Early Learning Council before actually moving the money. They indicate that they will plan to do this review in the Legislative session that will take place in February 2012.

After we received the Governor's budget proposals we consulted with the Institute of Museum and Library Services about what moving the Ready to Read funds out of our agency would mean for our LSTA allotment. LSTA funds carry a maintenance of effort requirement, so it was important to know if moving the funds might cause our allotment to be reduced. Recently we received guidance from IMLS that moving the funds would reduce our LSTA allotment. All of the state funds we use for maintenance of effort must be expended by us and not by another state agency under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.

There are still three months to go in the Legislative session where all this will need to be worked out. My best guess at this point is that there is a strong possibility that Ready to Read funding will be restored in accordance with the Governor's budget. If this happens, the grant you would receive this December would be approximately the same as the one you received in December of 2009. Of course we won't know that for sure before the Legislature finishes their work on our budget. If you prefer to play it conservatively, you could budget for the amount you received last December, but I am hoping we will see the restoration included in the Governor’s budget. Of course, all of our smaller libraries are guaranteed a minimum grant of $1,000, so this advice does not apply to you.

Please let me know if you have questions about this.

Jim Scheppke, State Librarian
Oregon State Library
250 Winter St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-378-4367
(fax) 503-585-8059
jim.b.scheppke at state.or.us

[cid:3384257837_1637360]Go Green, Keep it on screen - think before you print.
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