OLYMPIA… Sen. John Braun yesterday supported an updated Senate spending plan.

“I’m proud that the Senate has once again crafted a sustainable budget that makes education the top priority,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “I am keenly aware of the need to pay our bills before anything else. The state’s paramount duty is to provide ample public-school funding. Our budget’s billion-dollar increase in support for basic education, while limiting the growth of non-education spending, is the right thing to do.”

The Senate’s budget’s provides $1,000 per K-12 pupil. This is a much higher level of support than provided by the House of Representatives’ budget, despite that plan’s reliance on more than $500 million in new taxes.

Braun acknowledged that while the Senate’s budget reflects some compromises with the House, he and other members of the bipartisan coalition have not backtracked on any of their core principles.

“We in the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus insist on a budget that lives within its means and upholds the state’s paramount duty of providing for education,” said Braun. “This budget is exactly what Washington needs. I hope the House members will see this, too, and approve our very sensible spending plan.”

The $33.4 million budget received a 25-23 vote.