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Feb. 3, 2017
 This week I welcomed student and adult leaders with the Washington Career and Technical Sports Medicine Association, based in East Wenatchee, and the Wenatchee School District. From left to right: Larry Howe, association executive director; Alex Medina and Sabrina Zhu, student leadership board members and Wenatchee High students; Dennis Conger, director of career and technical education for Wenatchee schools; and Diana Haglund, Wenatchee Learns coordinator. The education-funding plan just passed by the Senate would double the state support for career and technical education.
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This has been a busy week in the Legislature.
The Senate took its first major vote of the year in an effort to take
another major step forward toward resolving the 2012 state Supreme Court McCleary decision. I encourage you to
keep reading for more information about the education-funding situation and
hope you will share your thoughts with me as the discussion progresses.
Also, as the fourth week of our session draws to a close, the first deadline
of the session is drawing closer. Policy committees have until Feb. 17 to act
on Senate legislation in committee, and I am glad that my most
district-oriented piece of legislation this year will have a committee hearing
well ahead of the deadline.
Important progress toward full funding
of our K-12 schools
I am proud of the Legislature’s progress on providing for education, which
is our number-one responsibility or “paramount duty” under Washington’s
constitution. Over the past four years, the state has provided full funding for
all-day kindergarten, increased funding for school transportation and operating
costs, supported reductions in K-3 class sizes, and delivered much-needed
cost-of-living adjustments to educators.
This year, we are working toward a solution to the remaining portions of the
state Supreme Court’s ruling. The court found that school districts overly rely
on their local levy dollars to fund “basic education.” This use of local-levy
dollars to fund a state responsibility was found unconstitutional because basic
education for students is a state-level responsibility.
The Senate-approved plan would set a minimum investment per pupil and cap
local school-levy rates across the state. Locally generated revenue would help
fund the per-pupil investment; the state would cover the rest of the per-pupil amount,
continuing the state’s role as the primary supplier of education funding. The
Senate plan would also significantly increase beginning-teacher pay, which
should help recruit more new teachers to this important profession.
 This shows what a flat local-levy rate would mean in the 12th District, based on the original version of the Senate’s new K-12 plan – the numbers in red represent a property-tax reduction, those in black a property-tax increase. The Senate anticipates being able to lower the $1.80 levy rate, which could reduce tax implications for the areas with existing levy rates less than the newly-proposed rate.
When it comes to votes on larger policy bills, especially at the beginning
of a negotiation process, there are often provisions that people may not like.
I recognize this, but to me, the primary importance of the Senate vote is the
progress it represents in moving forward toward a final agreement and a more
credible negotiation. What we don’t know yet is whether the House majority will
approve a plan of its own – along with any tax increases associated with their
proposals – or whether they will work from the Senate-approved plan for
negotiations.
Education policy affects our entire state, and I welcome all input from you,
including questions, comments or concerns. My contact information is at the end
of this update.
Education Policy Information
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The bill containing the Senate plan is Senate
Bill 5607. More information about the Senate plan is available here.
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The House majority has proposed legislation that
identifies changes in spending. The measure is House Bill 1843, online here.
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The approach presented by the governor in
December exists as a policy paper, which is available here.
The Senate education-funding plan was the main subject of my
radio interview this week with KOHO radio. If you weren’t able to tune in Tuesday
morning, click here
to listen.
Thank you for the opportunity to
serve you!
It is my great privilege to serve as your state senator. If you have any
questions or comments, please contact my office anytime using the information
below. If you are planning a trip to Olympia and would like to visit the
Capitol Building, I would be happy to connect with you or your group when you
are here.
I encourage you to share this newsletter with friends and family; they may subscribe using the information below my contact information. Thank you for allowing me to represent you in Olympia!
Sincerely,
Brad Hawkins
State Senator
Brad Hawkins
12th Legislative District
E-mail:
brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov
Website: senatorbradhawkins.org
107 Newhouse Building
- P.O. Box 40412 | Olympia, WA 98504-0412
(360) 786-7622 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000
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