On February 24 in the House Social Services Budget Committee, Rep. Mast moved to eliminate funding for the Parents as Teachers program. Notably, she said they needed to vote quickly because they might start hearing from constituents. Rep. Clayton tweeted, “Argument was made: if we don’t vote for a motion now, we would hear from constituents. Guys, our constituents are the whole point.” The motion passed.

The public did learn both of the proposed cuts to Parents as Teachers as well as Rep. Mast’s statement, and after hearing from many constituents, the committee did a motion to reconsider and a hearing was held on March 5.  Constituent contact does matter.

In the hearing on March 5, the committee voted to transfer $200,000 from Parents as Teachers to the Court Appointed Special Advocates program, which Mast said is “desperate for financing”. The committee also moved to adopt a sliding fee scale, though Reps. Clayton, Lusk, Ballard, and Gallagher voted against implementing the fees.

Read more here: http://cjonline.com/news/state/2015-03-05/house-committee-settles-modest-dig-parents-teachers