EDUCATION

Every candidate talks about the fact that providing an adequate education system is core to the State's responsibilities. It's easy to avow that 'education will be my top priority'. But figuring out how to stop the downward spiral of education in this State is not easy stuff and will not be accomplished overnight.

It will take a combination of real systemic reform and a re-allocation of resources to education, to attain anything like sustainable educational excellence in this state.

First, we cannot deny the fact that Washington, including the globally important Puget Sound region, is in the bottom third or worse of most educational budget measures.

This doesn't mean that there aren't excellent schools, excellent teachers and excellent students. But, overall, we are not providing sufficient educational opportunities for most of our students.

In an appalling lack of stewardship, we are not providing an education that ensures that our children will prosper in the global economy, either here or abroad. Of any group of 100 ninth graders, only 17 or 18 will attain a bachelor's degree.

Besides showing irresponsibility toward our own children, this is a devastating policy for this State's business community. While we have a very highly educated population, most of this expertise is 'imported' by migration to the area. This means that local businesses must constantly recruit from other areas, incurring search and relocation costs.

Yes, the funding shortfalls are real. Presently, school districts are making up some of the shortfall by relying heavily on local levies, shifting the primary funding responsibility from the State onto local taxpayers. That's wrong and that's why I oppose simply lifting local levy lids as a method of improving funding.

Many of us are asking, "How could this happen?"

First, in terms of financing, one reason is the now-obvious crisis in health care costs and pension commitments, which eat up more of our state budget every year. Until we get those sectors of the budget under control, we'll have trouble sustaining increases in the education budget. Popular initiatives have put increasing pressure on State and local budgets. We stand to lose $100 million per year, if I-920 passes this election year.

Secondly, we can't keep doing the same things and expect different results. Our educational system must undergo major reforms in its structure, governance, curriculum and teacher preparation and pay, if we are to adequately prepare a world-class work force.

I will work to:

• Demand reform in the health care and pension sectors, in order to stop 'budget creep' and redirect savings to education.
• Make education funding the top priority, bar none, for any new or 'found' funds.
• Vote to reduce the school levy statute so that a levy passes with a simple majority of the vote. If it's good enough for sports stadiums and parks initiatives, it's good enough for schools.
• Work for real and tough reforms in the system... including the way we pay and motivate teachers, hold school boards and administrators accountable for their district's progress, breaking up regulatory logjams to allow talent and excellence to prevail.

There are a multitude of excellent websites for education research, but a couple stand out as being reader-friendly and largely factual.

League of Education Voters Foundation, http://www.levfoundation.org/

Center on Reinventing Public Education at the UW's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, http://evans.washington.edu/research/centers/crpe.php

If you have questions or comments about these issues or others, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email at deb@debeddy.net or phone 425.827.9105.