Inslee outlines plan to pump $2.3 billion into education

  • By Jerry Cornfield
  • Monday, December 15, 2014 5:58pm
  • Local News

Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday said he wants to give public schools and colleges a $2.3 billion boost in the next budget.

He’s proposing to put in enough money to amply fund basic education as ordered by the Supreme Court, prevent a tuition hike for college students and give teachers a nearly 5 percent pay hike over the next two years.

But he’s not sticking in enough to cover the cost of the smaller class size initiative passed by voters last month.

And on Monday he wasn’t saying how he will pay for his proposal. That answer won’t come until Thursday when he issues his proposed spending plan for the biennium that begins July 1, 2015.

Here are some of the big pieces of the proposal released Monday:

-$1.35 billion for basic education including $751.8 million for materials, supplies and operating costs (MSOC), $448.1 million to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, and $107.6 million to implement full-day kindergarten statewide by the start of the 2016 school year;

-$485 million for teacher pay hikes totaling 3 percent in the 2015-16 school year and 1.8 percent in the following school year. The sum covers cost-of-living adjustments required under Initiative 732 plus a little extra.

-$100 million for the Opportunity Scholarship program, a public-private venture which offers financial aid to qualified students in health care, science, technology, engineering and math.

Inslee’s proposal does not pay the estimated $2 billion tab for Initiative 1351 which requires fewer students in classes at every grade level by the fall of 2018. However, the governor’s proposal does coincide with the initiative’s directive for smaller classes in the lower grades so in that sense he’s making a downpayment.

Of interest in Snohomish County, the proposal has $1.9 million for the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center in Everett to train workers for jobs involved in the fabrication of composite airplane wings.

And the governor wants to put another $2.5 million into aerospace and advanced manufacturing apprenticeship programs.

Inslee plans to release his transportation package Tuesday and climate change plan Wednesday.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.