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Davis column: Hard to do priority budgeting if you don't set priorities

My column this week suggests that the presidents of the six four-year colleges should have complied with the governor’s budget office and shown the effects of a 15 percent budget cut.  They prefer to paint with broad brushstrokes as they make a strong case against any further reductions in the higher education budget. I write, […]

McCleary, I-1351, and budgeting choices

Budgeting is fundamentally about choices. The McCleary decision and the prospect of I-1351 are making this plainly evident to many. Last week the League of Education Voters decided to oppose I-1351. Even though they supported a previous class size reduction initiative (I-728), LEV said, We know there is no single silver bullet that will close […]

Class size Initiative 1351: Threat to safety net and higher education, yet no organized opposition

Seattle Times columnist and editorial board member Erik Smith writes that despite its $4.7 billion price tag with no funding attached, Initiative 1351 seems to be sliding to the November ballot with no significant opposition. This is all the more surprising because, as Smith points out, when informed arguments are presented, even those most predisposed to […]

More 2015-17 budget links (plus an updated outlook)

First, as part of our 2015-17 budget preview policy brief, we included a chart showing the projected new revenues and spending needs for the biennium. It was based on one from the Office of Financial Management. I’ve updated the chart to reflect new information from OFM: And now to the links: 1. Contract negotiations with […]

Davis column on contempt ruling: "Court finesses crisis it created"

In my column today, I examine the state Supreme Court’s decision to find the state in contempt. We blogged about the decision here. The court chose to give lawmakers one more chance before imposing “sanctions and remedies.” It was the smart, face-saving move given the circumstances. But the court never should have forced the issue. Having […]

Budgeting and education

In the Everett Herald, Jerry Cornfield writes about Initiative 1351, which would reduce class sizes for kindergarten through 12th grade. Actually, current law already requires class size reduction for K-3. I-1351 would move up some of that spending, but it mostly mandates spending over and above what is already required under current law and McCleary. […]

State Supreme Court finds Legislature in contempt, defers sanctions

Yesterday’s big news was the state Supreme Court order finding the state in contempt for failing to respond adequately to the court’s McCleary decision, calling for a rapid ramp-up in state funding of basic education. (Like everyone, we’ve written a lot about this, good background here.) The judicial rebuke was expected. The question was how […]

Davis column on Rutgers research finding Americans "unhappy, worried, and pessimistic"

In a column I examine recent survey research from Rutgers University. The research, “Unhappy, Worried, and Pessimistic: Americans in the Aftermath of the Great Recession,” paints a bleak, if not unrealistic, view of American public opinion five years into the alleged economic recovery. From the column: Report co-author Carl Van Horn says, “The slow, uneven, […]

Former Govs. Spellman and Gregoire Urge Supreme Court to Exercise Restraint, Caution

In today’s Seattle Times, John Spellman and Chris Gregoire offer timely counsel to the state Supreme Court ahead of tomorrow’s hearing addressing whether the court should hold the Legislature in contempt for failing to make adequate progress on education funding. Republican Spellman served as governor from 1981-1985; Gregoire served from 2005-2013. The pair note that […]

Regarding McCleary, does the Legislature need its mind concentrated?

As Dick noted, in June, the state Supreme Court ordered the state to address why it should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with an earlier court order to submit “a complete plan for fully implementing its program of basic education for each school year between now and the 2017-18 school year.” […]