Washington’s Paramount DutyA look at education funding in our state |
Greetings,For the past 30 years, starting in the early 1980s, growth in general government spending outpaced the state’s investments in public education. Billions of dollars were diverted from the state’s paramount duty toward other state programs. As the state’s portion of education funding declined, that burden shifted to school-district taxpayers and their ability to raise funds through local levies. These two issues have culminated in the McCleary decision where the state Supreme court found the state was not meeting is constitutional duty to adequately provide for K-12 education. In just a few short years, our Senate majority has been able to change that and make education the first priority in the state’s budget. Since 2013, education spending has increased by $4.5 billion and 47 percent of spending in the most recent budget is going to our K-12 system. However, funding is only part of the challenge. We also need common sense reforms to give teachers the freedom to do their jobs well and help schools and students succeed. Looking ahead at the upcoming legislative session, we have more work to do to make the right investments for our students and provide a more equitable solution for school funding by the 2018 deadline. As we continue to prioritize schools in our state there will be many issues to address, but funding is a major piece of the puzzle. State Sen. Andy Hill, our lead budget writer, recently put out a series of policy papers that goes in depth on education funding and reform. Please see below for links to the three-part series. 
The Paramount Duty SeriesPart I: 30 Years of Shirking the Paramount Duty & Understanding the Ruling that Followed
“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders[.]” – Article. 9, Sec. 1 of the Washington State Constitution Despite being ascribed preeminent importance in Washington’s Constitution, education was a decidedly declining state budget priority over the last generation as non-education spending dominated budget growth from 1983 to 2013… Click Here to Read More Part 2: Turning the tide–state spending radically reprioritized under Majority Coalition Caucus
The Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) took the reins of the Senate in 2013, determined to turn the tide of the previous 30 years and reprioritize education. The results are as follows… Click Here to Read More. Part 3: What’s left? Bringing fairness to K-12 funding via levy reform,debunking the myth that new taxes are needed,and the vital importance of education policy reforms
The quality of a child’s education should not depend on their ZIP Code.That is a fundamental principle that unites all of us in the Legislature, and while we cannot ultimately control the quality of a child’s education, we in the Legislature must ensure the funding system in place is equitable, regardless of where a child lives in our state.Sadly, that is not the case at present–and it must be remedied… Click Here to Read More. Contact Me:Email:John.Braun@leg.wa.gov Olympia Office: 407 Legislative Building PO Box 40420 Olympia, WA 98504-0420 Phone:(360) 786-7638 Website: johnbraun.src.wastateleg.org Share my E-newsletterDo you know others who live in our district who may not be receiving my e-news updates? Please feel free to forward this e-mail to them or click on the share button below.
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Tag Archives: Reform
Sen. John Braun’s legislation, Senate Bill 5329 that would require public employees’ union negotiations to be open to the public received a hearing in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee Monday.
“It is important to have transparency and openness in government,” Braun, R- Centralia, said. “We’ve recently seen private negotiations between the governor’s office and public unions that resulted in over a half a billion dollar obligation for the taxpayers. The public deserves visibility on these negotiations.”
The Open Public Meetings Act requires that all meetings of governing bodies of public agencies, be open and accessible to the public, however, public employee collective bargaining is exempt from compliance.A meeting is generally defined as any situation where a majority of members from a governing body meet and discuss the business of that body. Braun’s proposed legislation would remove the current exemption from the act and require collective bargaining meetings to be open.
“Bargaining should not be done in secret,” Braun said. “Eliminating this exemption is a reasonable step toward increasing transparency in government and ensuring a balance between the interests of our state employees and those that pay the salaries.”
Forest land management more efficient now that Braun bill signed into law
OLYMPIA… Today the governor signed Senate Bill 6180 into law which changes how counties administer forest land and open space timber programs. This legislation authorizes counties to merge programs for more efficient and cost effective administration. Both programs are forestry related and the legislation will remove duplicative accounting while maintaining levels of tax revenue.
“The state should be doing everything it can to let communities plan and manage their forestry programs. This legislation is a simple fix to burdensome land management practices and allows counties to better manage their forestry programs without negatively impacting residents,” said Braun.
Lewis County Assessor Dianne Dorey noted the benefits to her county should commissioners choose to participate. “This bill will save time for us. We don’t know the direct savings yet as the Board of County Commissioners will decide whether or not we participate. If we do, we will be able to manage parcels with more efficiency by not having to dually assess property values and have property owner’s transfer between programs. Lewis County has 1/5 of the acreage that is currently in the Open Space Timber program in Washington State. Property owners will not have to deal with the cost and time of transferring between programs when their land falls below 20 acres.”
The bill places no requirements on counties to adopt changes; rather it lets them opt in. The bill also reduces the minimum size for land to be designated forest land from 20 acres to five.