Commentary

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Sunday, October 18, 2009 INITIATIVE 1033 NO: I-1033 would make tough times even worse By Scott Allen and Charles Miller Tim Eyman’s latest initiative, I-1033, couldn’t come at a worse time for Snohomish County and all of Washington. I-1033 poses a serious threat to education, health care and local control of our communities. To see what will happen to Washington under I-1033, all we need to do is look at Colorado, where a very similar law was passed in 1992. Colorado’s law used the same rigid and arbitrary formula as I-1033 to limit spending and revenue, and the results were a disaster to the state’s classrooms, hospitals and clinics and economy. Colorado’s law forced drastic education funding cuts in schools all across the state. This resulted in fewer resources for classrooms and higher costs for parents as they were forced to pay out-of-pocket for supplies, programs and sports. Colorado fell to 49th in K-12 spending, and as a result, ranks near last among states in high school graduation rates. Colorado also ranks 49th in state support for higher education. These cuts caused college tuition rates to dramatically increase, shifting a greater burden onto students and families. Things got so bad Colorado suspended the requirement that children be fully immunized before enrolling in school, because there were not enough state funds to buy vaccines. If passed, I-1033 will do the same sort of damage to Washington. I-1033 would lock in massive cuts to education and health care. This year we’ve already had to slash school funding by hundreds of millions, and as many as 3,000 teachers and education employees are facing layoffs. Public schools across our state are eliminating bus routes and entire programs, including art, music and sports. Funding for the state’s colleges and universities was cut by $500 million this year. College students are facing double digit tuition increases, and class sizes are getting larger. At the same time, the state is being forced to drop approximately 35,000 people from Basic Health, which provides insurance to low-income people, and make deep cuts to hospitals and community health clinics. While the number of seniors in need of care continues to increase, support of home health visits for seniors and people with disabilities decreases. I-1033 would lock in this year’s recession budget as the baseline — meaning all these cuts become permanent — and will force even deeper cuts over time. According to the Office of Financial Management, I-1033 will reduce revenues for education, health care and other services by $5.9 billion over the next five years. Cities and counties will lose $2.8 billion by 2015. Eyman mistakenly claims his initiative won’t result in any cuts, but that defies common sense. There’s no way we can lose that much revenue without hurting the families, kids and communities who rely on these services. But I-1033 won’t only hurt education and health care — it will end our tradition of local control. Every single city and county in Washington would face the exact same limits, regardless of their individual needs, challenges and priorities. Under I-1033, Tim Eyman’s one-size-fits-all formula would decide what gets done in your community. This November, we could vote to take even more resources away from our classrooms and kids, and to make the health care crisis even worse for our parents, grandparents and most vulnerable seniors. And we could vote to put the future of our communities in the hands of Tim Eyman’s imported formula, rather than stay true to our tradition of local control. Or we could choose to vote NO on Eyman’s Initiative 1033 — a proven failure for Washington’s schools, kids, seniors and businesses. Eyman claims that I-1033 won’t impact our communities or economy, but he’s just plain wrong. I-1033’s damage will extend far beyond the state capital. That’s why more than 210 organizations are working together to defeat Eyman’s initiative. These include the Everett Chamber of Commerce, South Snohomish Chamber of Commerce, Washington State Hospital Association, Washington Education Association, League of Education Voters, Washington State PTA, Community Health Network of Washington, AARP Washington and the Washington Roundtable. We hope you join us and vote no on 1033. Scott Allen is president of the Washington State PTA. Charles Miller serves on the WSPTA Board of Directors and represents Region 7, which includes Snohomish County. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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