Legislative Update

January 10, 2012

On Thursday, January 6, 2012, the state Supreme Court announced the decision regarding the priority of funding of basic education.  The Court’s decision affirmed that the state’s “paramount duty” is to fund basic education.   The following is from Cathy Renner, Region 2, Legislative Chair;  she does an excellent job of explaining the basics of the ruling and what it means for our children now.  

Rena Peterson

Kids in Washington State got a big win with last week's Supreme Court Decision and we need your help seeing it through.  The high court's decision aligns perfectly with WSPTA's number one priority legislative issue which is Following up on Education Reform Efforts.  We have a huge advocacy opportunity here and I don't want us to miss out on it!

Most of you will be having a general meeting in the coming month and I would like to ask you to set aside 5 minutes of that meeting to do a "Take 5 for Kids" card campaign on this issue.  If you are unfamiliar with this process or unsure how to proceed, I have attached a document that was included in your leadership packet that explains how to give this simple type of report at a general meeting. The information to give your members at this meeting is as follows in red:

In a clear win for children, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the state was violating its constitutional paramount duty to amply K-12 education. The ruling

This is a historic victory, however, this is not necessarily a done deal.  We have a huge opportunity this session because of the verdict in the lawsuit.  There is a lot of "grayness" in the verdict.  Some attorneys think that the verdict means that cuts to education can still happen.  Other attorneys think that the verdict means that cuts can't happen.   Our legislators will need to hear from us. They need our help figuring out what to do about the verdict. They need to know that we support them funding education.  They need our help.  

The high court’s decision validates all of the work Washington State PTA members put into the passage of ESHB 2261 in 2009 and SHB 2776 in 2010, and with our work this past year to protect all-day kindergarten, highly capable funding and an intact school year.

This decision sets the stage for the next step – finding a stable, adequate source of revenue to meet the needs of schoolchildren.

THE RULING

Not only did the high court point out that ample funding is “considerably more than just adequate,” the court ruled the state was consistently giving districts less money than actual costs. It identified ESHB 2261 as a “promising” reform package that if fully funded would remedy deficiencies in the K-12 funding system.

It reiterated that “ample funding for basic education must be accomplished by means of regular and dependable tax sources.”

Finally, the court said it would stay engaged to help facilitate progress in the state’s plan to fully fund basic education by 2018.

Ask your members to write a couple sentences on their cards stating that it is imperative that the legislators honor the verdict.  If they want to tell them "how" to do this, they should do that too...could be raising taxes, could be cutting something else - frankly it will have to be everything we can think of.  

The legislature is in a pickle and they need to know that the really, really, really hard stuff they are going to have to do is backed by their community.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to do this at your upcoming meetings and to make things easier, after you have collected the cards from your members contact me and I will come to you and collect the cards and hand deliver them to our legislators as I will be making trips to Olympia at least once every two weeks in during this legislative session.  Another option is to bring the cards with you to the Region 2 Mid Year Conference on February 11th and drop them off with me there.  If you would like to include your own cover letter with your cards please feel free to do so, but if not, I will simply include the cover letter I have prepared.  If you have any questions or concerns at all, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Cathy Jo Renner

Region 2 Legislative Chair

Washington State PTA

everychild.onevoice