Funding basic education is the paramount duty of our state

Of all the work legislators do, nothing is as important as providing the necessary funding for educating our children. Our state Constitution wisely declares that education is the paramount duty of our state and it is a responsibility I take most seriously.

Unfortunately, providing the funding for the world-class education that Washington’s children deserve is always a challenge. There are only so many dollars to go around, and so many needs. And I am one vote in a body with 147 members.

By working with other lawmakers who strongly support education, we passed one of the best-ever biennial state budgets last year for our public schools. For the first time, we fully funded the class-size and the cost-of-living adjustment initiatives passed by voters, and increased overall education funding by 9 percent.

Our current budget makes other important investments in education, too, including a $30 million boost in special education funding, a 12 percent increase in levy equalization dollars for school districts statewide, and $6.2 million for the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP).

But there is clearly more work to do, and securing the funding our schools and children need remains a challenge.

That’s one reason I supported the creation of Washington Learns last year. This blue ribbon group is leading an 18-month comprehensive study of our entire state education system — from pre-school through graduate school — and before the next legislative session will recommend ways to improve it. The Washington Learns steering committee, working closely with three advisory committees, will define what it will take to make ours the highest-quality education system, identify inefficiencies and gaps in our schools, and determine what additional resources are needed.

My hope is that Washington Learns will help fuel broad support for providing more of the resources and policies our teachers, schools and students need and deserve.

Aside from any funding recommendations that may come from Washington Learns for the 2007 session, there are other options that should be explored. One is, frankly, an income tax. I sponsored Senate Bill 6074, which calls for an income tax on the wealthiest individuals, estates and trusts in Washington at a flat rate of 2 percent. It would only apply to the highest incomes ($500,000 for an individual), and not to individuals and families struggling to make ends meet. Importantly, all of the revenue generated by this proposal would be dedicated exclusively to our public schools, colleges and universities.

The Washington Learns recommendations and a potential new revenue base (such as under Senate Bill 6074) could have a huge long-term impact on our schools, if enough lawmakers have the courage to do the right thing. But virtually any teacher or informed parent will tell you that we cannot wait for the long term to improve funding for schools. They need more help now.

One way to quickly boost funding for our schools is to make it easier to pass school district bonds and levies. The 60 percent bar now in place is just too high. We finance stadiums and roads with a simple majority vote — why not our schools? For years this bill has come before the Legislature with my support and sponsorship. Although it has cleared the House on several occasions, it hasn’t had the steam to pass the Senate with the 60 percent votes needed to submit a constitutional amendment to the people. It’s an idea whose time has come, and I’ll continue to advocate for it.

The new revenue forecast due this week is expected to add another $200 million to the “surplus” available this biennium. Although the Legislature is legally required to cover costs for higher caseloads in our prisons and social services systems, there will be limited funds available for other programs after we put aside a prudent amount in a reserve account. I will first give careful and thorough consideration to proposals that will bolster our education system.

Also on Feb. 15, Senate Democrats will unveil their proposed supplemental budget. It will recommend more funding for K-12 and higher education, including funds for additional remediation programs, and more assistance to skills centers and vocational education.
There is no simple answer to the challenge of finding the funding we’ll need to build the best education system in the world. But the root of any solution is commitment.

Are we as a state truly committed to giving our children the education that they and our future deserve? The answer is, unfortunately, not yet. But I am making every effort to lead our state Legislature toward the level of commitment to education that our children deserve.

I hope you will support these efforts to improve education for all children in Washington.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles

Sen. Kohl-Welles serves as chair of the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research & Labor Committee. She is a member of the Senate Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education; Ways & Means; and Rules committees.

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