As with any budget proposal, this is where the discussions begin, particularly on matters related to satisfying what has been called the McCleary decision, the state Supreme Court’s ruling that the state is in contempt of court and must make adequate progress on its “paramount duty” to fully fund education.
Inslee last week unveiled his budget proposals, starting with a $2.3 billion spending plan for education, which he says satisfies McCleary a year earlier than scheduled in House Bill 2776. Hitting some of the highlights, Inslee proposes spending: $156 million for early childhood education programs; $1.3 billion to increase basic education funding and reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade; $596 million for education pension payments and pay raises as well as restore Initiative 732’s cost-of-living salary increases for teachers; and $126 million to freeze resident undergraduate tuition and fund the state’s pledge for the Opportunity Scholarship program.
Inslee’s capital budget proposal includes $54.6 million for the new home of Washington State University’s University Center of North Puget Sound near Everett Community College. Inslee’s education budget, however, didn’t include $4.5 million for new degree programs at University Center.
As stakeholders and legislators begin sifting through the budget, we expect some quibbles.
For example, Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Shoreline, had outlined about $200 million, rather than the governor’s $156 million, for early childhood education and for her proposed Early Start program, which would provide support and assistance for certified child care centers and early education programs.
Likewise, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges had requested about $182 million. Inslee’s budget provides less than half of that request, about $70 million, said Marty Brown, executive director for the SBCTC.
“Going in, everybody knew K through 12 was going to take the biggest chunk,” Brown said.
Even though it’s less than the board requested, Brown said, it’s better than in past years when the community college budget was severely cut back. The $70 million is a good start, he said. And the community colleges will lobby legislators to restore some programs that received no funding in the governor’s budget.
Also to be resolved will be what to do with Initiative 1350, which mandates the hiring of some 7,000 teachers and 18,000 other public school employees to lower student-to-teacher ratios. Inslee’s budget doesn’t specifically fund the initiative, yet he isn’t recommending the Legislature repeal it. Instead, he said, his budget takes steps, specifically the class-size reductions in K-3, toward meeting what voters sought in its approval.
We earlier wrote that I-1351 should be suspended. Any amendment of an initiative in its first two years requires approval of two-thirds of both the House and Senate, a high bar, but one that we see as necessary to honestly fund all of the state’s education responsibilities as well as its responsibilities to social services and other agencies.
In satisfying the McCleary mandate, Inslee said he is less concerned about making “nine people in black robes” happy than he is in providing opportunities for the state’s children. His budget should accomplish both.
With a few reservations noted and remaining open to suggestions, we’ll endorse the governor’s education budget and encourage the Legislature to adopt it.
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