— from Tara Lee, Office of the Governor —
Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Thursday to create more equitable education opportunities for students in K-12 public schools, including changes to the way local districts fund their schools.
The changes are in response to the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision, which determined that the state was not meeting its constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. Part of the decision found that schools were relying on local levies to pay for their basic needs, such as teacher salaries, a responsibility that should fall to state government.
“This is a big day in the state of Washington,” Inslee said. “For the first time in decades, we have a budget that fully funds education. Our work isn’t over, but we’ve met the constitutional and moral obligation to our students, and we’ve set the course for the future of education in Washington state.”
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“…We have a budget that fully funds education.”
And how did they do it?
By raising taxes, of course.
I suggest that raising taxes was not exactly what the people of Washington had in mind.
Making us pay higher taxes is not a real solution to any problem. It is a mere band-aid.
A real and permanent solution is controlling our legislature’s tendency toward unfocused, hemorrhagic spending.
Amen. An 18% increase in budget this biennium alone, and not all or even most of that going to education.
18% increase, and The taxpayers or Orcas Island get to see less money go to their schools.
What a great solution!