Issue Position: Prioritize education and school funding

Issue Position

We need to focus on funding basic services first. As our State Representative, I've focused on a prioritized budget with fiscal restraint, while ensuring we have a voice in how our state dollars are spent.

I've made school funding a priority and not a budget bargaining chip. The Washington State Supreme Court clearly wrote in McCleary et al. v. State of Washington "Fundamental reforms are needed for Washington to meet its constitutional obligation to its students." This means;

* Funding education first in the budgeting process. Give education its own line item in the budget, just as we do for transportation and healthcare.
* Fund and expand Skills Centers across the state and focus on high demand job opportunities.
* Allow more flexibility with credits to make it easier to transfer from community colleges into other higher ed institutions.

Our current State government has been borrowing money for short term non-essential projects and reducing the amount of money left to pay for our essential services. This means there is less money for our schools, public safety and transportation.

We made some progress this year by prioritizing better and were able to increase teachers salaries, fund essential mental health programs and keep our fledgling state charter schools open. All of this was done without raising taxes.

We need to continue to fund education first and prioritize our spending on public safety to protect those most vulnerable in our communities. I am committed to doing just that.

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