Last year, local young mothers went to bat in Olympia to win more state dollars for school libraries. They proved to be savvy grassroots lobbyists, and succeeded against pretty long odds.

Now, the same group is trying to put some meat on skeletal bills aimed at revamping school funding. After a year of work, a small group of advocates and lawmakers had proposed sweeping changes in how teachers are paid and evaluated and what the state pays for.

But some groups -- notably the state teachers' union -- balked at the overhaul. And some lawmakers argue that a recession with a $9 billion state deficit isn't the time to commit the state to billions of dollars in new spending.

“There is no money now,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said yesterday when asked about the plan. Yes, she said, the state needs to change what it considers basic education (and thus pays for), but she said there's no sense in doing it now while the state's still trying to dig its way out of a budget hole.

“I don't believe you move forward now with putting something on the books when you don't have any money to pay for it,” she said.

Undeterred, Spokane's Lisa Layera Brunkan and Susan McBurney have gotten thousands of signatures in an online petition.

“With 2 million parents in the state, we can do this!!!” they wrote in a recent e-mail to supporters.

---

---