Governor lobbies for education funding bill

OLYMPIA – Gov. Christine Gregoire was her own lobbyist Monday, urging the Senate Education Committee to approve a full study of how to better finance the state’s public education system.

It’s rare for a governor to personally testify at legislative hearings, but Democrat Gregoire said she wanted to underscore the importance of education as a signature issue for her new administration.

Her plan is for a high-level study to look at the financial demands on public education, from pre-kindergarten through K-12 and on through college, and to propose ideas for filling the gap.

The Legislature also is considering legislation to create a K-12 financing study, but Gregoire advocated a broader look.

“We must tackle this as one integrated, seamless educational system,” she told the senators.

Her plan creates separate advisory committees on early learning, K-12 and higher education, but each would produce interim reports. The governor would head the overall steering committee, joined by the state budget director, a bipartisan group of four legislators and the heads of the three advisory committees.

Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island, prime sponsor of both bills, said the pressures on the state’s schools and colleges have mounted in recent years, and that resources haven’t kept pace. Schools face tough new high-stakes testing, increasing numbers of students with learning problems and whole new areas of expense, such as technology, he said.

Gregoire agreed, noting that the last major education study, the panel that ushered in the Education Reform Act of 1992, was supposed to include financing as a big part of its task, but punted.

“The intent here is not to reinvent the wheel,” she said. “What we have not done is to take the next step” of defining the size of the shortfall and how to fill the gap.

She gave no estimates of the potential gap – or the taxes that would be required.

Voters recently rejected a citizen initiative to generate $1 billion a year for early childhood education, K-12 and higher education by raising the state sales tax by a penny on the dollar.

Gregoire said the lopsided vote probably reflected both rejection of the tax plan and citizens’ sense that not enough of their tax dollars actually get into the classroom. She said any new revenue plan would have to include ways to ensure accountability and effectiveness.

Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Bothell, suggested that the study panel offer two plans: one with new revenue and the other within existing funds.

State schools chief Terry Bergeson and other education groups strongly endorsed Gregoire’s plan. Bergeson, who served as staff director for the education reform panel in the early 1990s, agreed that the system needs a course correction and must spend tax dollars smarter. But she said she has “a great sense of urgency” about Olympia finding additional revenue.