Recent Press- State budget writers bound by pasts, not vision | Government / Politics - The News Tribune May 16, 2013
- Would A Budget By Any Other Name Not Smell As Sweet? | KUOW News and Information April 15, 2013
- House passes budget much different from Senate. - Spin Control - Spokesman.com - April 12, 2013 April 13, 2013
- House Democrats target tax breaks in proposed state budget | Government / Politics - The News Tribune April 13, 2013
- Senate's no-new-taxes budget raises questions | Crosscut.com April 6, 2013
Tag Archives: Education
Senate Budget – Unconstitutional Fund Transfer?
In the Senate Republican budget they transfer $166 million of the “Common School Construction Fund” into the operating budget. The Treasurer does not believe he has the constitutional authority to make this transfer and has said so publicly. The Senate … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Education
Tagged Basic Ed, Education, K12 Finance Task Force, McCleary Decision
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Legislative Update
We’ve gone through the first week. The governor and the state-wide officials have all been inaugurated, I fit into the same tuxedo I got married in 23 years ago for the inaugural ball, the Senate is in uproar about Senator … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Education, Health Care, Public Safety, Transportation
Tagged 520, Basic Ed, Education, gun safety, K12 Finance Task Force, McCleary Decision
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What’s in “McCleary?”
In 2012 the Washington State Supreme Court found that Washington State is not funding our education system at anything close to the level the constitution requires. Just before the holidays the court opined again, that “the overall level of funding … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Education
Tagged Basic Ed, BEFTF, Education, K12 Finance Task Force, McCleary Decision
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Budget Outline 2013-15
In 2013 the Legislature has three big budget problems to address. It may be that there are other issues for the Legislature (gun safety, mental health, transportation…) but as the budget chair I have an odd focus on what I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Education, Health Care
Tagged Budget, Education, K12 Finance Task Force, pension
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Boring post about Joint Education Financing Task Force
For those who are interested the state is maintaining a website with information about the meetings the task force is holding. You can sign up at this website for notifications of meetings, perhaps the most interesting part of what is, … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Education, Tax Policy
Tagged Basic Ed, Education, K12 Finance Task Force, Levy Swap
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Impact of Early Learning
The New York Times had an article this weekend on the impact of Kindergarten teachers on student success later in life. It’s worth reading for lots of reasons, but perhaps the title is good enough: “The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten … Continue reading
Education Financing Update
For the entire 6 years I’ve been in the legislature I’ve worked on school funding. I’ve tried to improve the amount and the efficacy of use of the money. This year a bipartisan group of six legislators introduced a package … Continue reading
Open Letter to Teachers about HB 1410
I’ve had a lot of questions from teachers on HB 1410 that seem to indicate some misunderstanding of our intent and I believe a misreading of the bill. 1410 is a serious attempt to address school funding inadequacies and the … Continue reading
Seat Belts in School Buses
I reacted the same way many of you did when I heard from my son about the Bellevue High School football team bus rolling over – I was horrified. We followed the news all afternoon via phone from the Tacoma … Continue reading
Basic Education Funding Task Force
I’m a member of the Basic Education Financing Task Force (BEFTF,) a group appointed by the legislature and the governor to try to re-write how K-12 education is funded in Washington. This is the reason I originally ran for the … Continue reading