Washington
Education Association Washington
Education Association Legislative Outlook
A regular update about legislative issues affecting Washington public schools and education employees
Volume XII, No. 16 -- January 6, 2005, www.washingtonea.org
Welcome to OutlookWelcome to the Washington Education Association's Legislative Outlook, a regular update on what's happening in Olympia. The paper version of Outlook is mailed to every WEA building representative in the state. (If you are a rep, please post Outlook on your WEA bulletin board.) You can subscribe to the e-mail version of Outlook by sending an e-mail to Lyris. Include the words "subscribe weaoutlook" in the body of the message. A printable version of Outlook is available online (Adobe PDF file). Questions? Contact Rich Wood in the WEA Communications Department. Long legislative session starts MondayThe 2005 legislative session begins Monday, Jan. 10 and is scheduled to end April 24. It's a long, 105-day session. It's also a budget-writing year. Although state lawmakers are facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, funding for quality public schools must be a top budget priority. "Washington students need and deserve quality schools despite a sluggish economy. The state Constitution spells this out clearly," said Charles Hasse, WEA president. "If we expect all students to meet our state's new, higher academic standards, we have no choice but to fund the programs they need to meet those high standards." Recent polling shows that the need for improved compensation remains clear in the minds of both WEA members and voters. Most K-12 school employees have received no state-funded cost-of-living adjustment for the last two years, and Washington's average teacher salary is $10,000 below the average for West Coast states. WEA members expect the Legislature to fully fund the cost-of-living adjustments mandated by Initiative 732 in addition to other improvements in pay and benefits. Sullivan takes education leadership postRep. Pat Sullivan has been named vice-chair of the House Education Committee. Sullivan was one of WEA-PAC's priority candidates. Hundreds of WEA members doorbelled on his behalf prior to the Nov. 2 election. He beat an incumbent legislator. "Public education and children's issues are my No. 1 priority," Sullivan wrote on his WEA-PAC questionnaire. "I will advocate for making education funding, including fully funding I-732, our highest priority." In the Senate, Sen. Brian Weinstein and Sen. Craig Pridemore are vice chairs of the Education Committee. They both beat incumbent legislators. Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe chairs the Senate Education Committee. All three senators were WEA-PAC priority candidates this fall and received strong support from WEA members. Ed Week report highlights need for improved fundingEducation Week's annual Quality Counts report highlights why legislators must make funding for public schools a top priority when they convene in Olympia next week. The report clearly shows that Washington's public schools are underfunded, and it highlights why WEA members believe the Legislature needs to increase our investment in public education. According to Education Week, Washington's per-pupil spending is 42nd out of 50 states and the District of Columbia. Educators know we must increase school funding if all students are going to meet high academic standards and get the well-rounded education they deserve. If we want a strong economy and business growth in our state, and if we want our children to compete for good jobs in the high-tech global economy, we must invest in public education. Here's what the Quality Counts report says about school funding in Washington: "The state falls below average on every spending indicator. With $6,779 in per-pupil spending in the 2001-02 school year, the state ranks 42nd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. That amount was about a 4.3 percent increase from the previous year. About 24 percent of students in the state attend schools in districts with spending at or above the national average. "Washington ranks 38th on the spending index, which measures the percentage of students in districts with average or above-average spending, and how far the rest are below the national average. The state spends 3.4 percent of its total taxable resources on education. The national average is 3.8 percent." To read the entire report, visit www.edweek.org.
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Some people are calling for a second gubernatorial election, even though a thorough, accurate and legal hand recount of votes showed Chris Gregoire won the race for governor.