State of Washington Archives: on Education


Jay Inslee: $1.2B for automatic COLA adjustments for teachers

[In the recent court ruling] the court wrote that it wants to see "immediate, concrete action, not simply promises." I agree. Promises don't educate our children, and promises don't satisfy our constitutional and moral obligations. We need to put several billion dollars more into funding our K-through-12 education system. I propose a plan to make an investment of about $200 million in our schools this session. Most of that will go directly to your local school districts. It will also fund a long-overdue cost-of-living adjustment for our educators this session. Washington voters spoke loudly in 2000, saying that educators should get this COLA every year. Yet repeatedly that mandate has been shunted aside. We're going to live up to that promise this year. Last year I proposed a $1.2 billion down payment on our obligation to schools, funded mostly by closing tax breaks. The court now says what we did wasn't enough and the need for immediate action could not be more apparent.
Source: 2014 Wash. State of the State address Jan 14, 2014

Ann-Marie Adams: Lack of minority teachers led to achievement gap

Adams identified issues within the education and health sectors as key matters to be dealt with in Connecticut, known as the 'Nutmeg State'. She cited "a paucity of minority teachers in public schools" as reason for what she dubbed the achievement gap in the state, as well as disparities in the health sector. "Since I've covered education for more than a decade, I'm very in tune with what needs to be done to fix our education system in Connecticut."
Source: Ann-Marie Adams Wash. Post OpEd 2018 Connecticut Senate race Nov 12, 2012

Christine Gregoire: Unify Department of Education; prepare students to succeed

Unify the state's eight education agencies and 14 major education plans into a Department of Education. Focus all department activities on students and student learning from early learning to higher education.

Washington state does not have an education system but multiple agencies and plans that deal with education. If students are going to succeed as they progress from early learning through higher education, then every level of education must work together from pre-school on up.

Source: 2011 Wash. gubernatorial press release #1645 Feb 1, 2011

Dino Rossi: Honor Catholic schools' faith-based instruction

Source: State of Wash. legislative record Feb 19, 2003

Dino Rossi: Honor home schooling as viable alternative