The Seattle Times editorial board is urging voters to reject Initiative 1351:

ON the surface, Initiative 1351 appears appealing, promising smaller classes in Washington public schools. But what it really does is unnecessarily complicate the state Legislature’s very serious job of meeting a state Supreme Court order to fully fund basic education. . . .

Remember, the state already is on track to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade — levels where volumes of research support class sizes make a difference.

As the challenge stands now, the Legislature might well have to consider raising taxes to pay for its McCleary obligation and the rest of state government. That task will be hard enough without this wrongheaded initiative.

Here, again, is our policy brief on I-1351: Initiative 1351 Class Size Reduction: A $4.7 Billion Unfunded Mandate with Dubious Educational Merit.

And in higher education news, Central Washington University’s president Jim Gaudino has sensibly recognized that “even under the best circumstances for the state’s finances, the university will need to start making spending cuts immediately.” (Read the article for more on the planned budget cuts.) The article quotes Gaudino:

“I know that any talk of budget cuts generates fear and uncertainty. But the only thing worse is not to talk about it at all. I also know that the response of some will be to ‘duck and take cover’ and to wait for better times to speak out,” he said. “We cannot do this. We must welcome discussion and questions about this complex issue. We are stronger if we avail ourselves of our collective expertise and creativity.”

(Of course, earlier the presidents of the four-year institutions did not comply with the governor’s request to show what a 15 percent budget cut would look like.)