Blog

Reframing the education funding debate: Time to move the goalposts?

Give former state Sen. Jim Kastama credit for his op-ed in today’s Seattle Times. Kastama says what few others have said publicly. He takes a look at the legislative history of ESHB 2261, the legislation setting school funding goals that have become the state Supreme Court’s standard for full funding of basic education in the […]

Seattle Times on education, transportation, and Inslee's budget proposal

Education and transportation look to be main areas of work for the Legislature in the upcoming session. Over the weekend, the Seattle Times had a few interesting items on these topics, in light of Gov. Inslee’s 2015-17 budget proposal. First, regarding the governor’s transportation plan, the paper points to a letter from state Treasurer Jim […]

Governor proposes $2.3 billion education package, doesn't fund I-1351 class size reduction

Gov. Jay Inslee launched his extended budget rollout by focusing on education. This is, of course, the fun part of the rollout, talking about what the new spending will buy before having to get to the grit of new taxes. It’s, well, let’s just use the governor’s own characterization, Inslee proposes boldest new efforts in […]

State budget must invest wisely in education: Yes to STEM, No to I-1351 Class Size Measure

This week Gov. Jay Inslee rolls out his 2015-2017 budget proposals. Education funding will take center stage, driven by the state Supreme Court’s McCleary mandate and voter-approved (narrowly) class size reduction Initiative 1351. While I-1351, which adds $4.7 billion in new spending over the next four years, is clearly unaffordable, lawmakers are expected to add […]

Battle over education waivers continues here; Oklahoma waiver reinstated. Higher education fighting back.

The Associated Press reports that the coming legislative session will likely feature a continuation of the No Child Left Behind battles that cost districts control of some $38 million in federal funding. Here’s the crux: At issue during the 2014 legislative session was whether to require that student scores on statewide tests be used as one […]

Making the most of education investment: maintain standards, target early learning, scrap 1351

The headline summarizes some recent editorial observations. And nicely comports with budget realities. The News Tribune takes a strong editorial stand in support of academic accountability. At a time when the world is demanding more of high school graduates, Washington’s public schools shouldn’t be demanding less. Washington and many other states are phasing in the […]

Voters delivered a sensible message: What it means for 2015

In my column yesterday I assessed last week’s election, finding parallels between the national and Washington state outcomes. Using national trends to interpret our state elections can be risky. We’re different out here and proud of it. But last week showed some unmistakable signs that the wave sweeping most of the country splashed us as […]

Washington ranks 6th best in growth since 2008 in per-student state funding for public schools

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a new report examining changes in state government spending on K-12 education since the beginning of the the Great Recession. Between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2015, per-student inflation-adjusted state support has decreased in 30 states and has increased in 17 states. For 3 states, data […]

With ballots arriving, here's our take on I-1351

Ballots are in the mail or already delivered, so I thought I would re-post the link to our policy brief on one of this year’s initiatives: Initiative 1351 Class Size Reduction: A $4.7 Billion Unfunded Mandate with Dubious Educational Merit. It may also be helpful for voters to consider I-1351 in the broader budget context. […]

Harvard Business School on "An Economy Doing Half Its Job" and the Need to Improve Education, Workforce Skills and Transportation

My column today used a Harvard Business School competitiveness report as its launching point. It points out a signal danger to our economic future. The report, “An Economy Doing Half Its Job,” is based on a survey of Harvard business graduates and the school’s own academic research. The research team writes that the nation is […]