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Spokesman Review: GOP Budget Plan Lacks Specifics
It's not all gay marriage in Olympia.
The News Tribune and the Spokesman Review have stories on the GOP's "Education First" budget proposal ... or semi-proposal.
The Republicans say they will allocate all education spending before doing any other budgeting on health and human services or public safety, pledging only to cut $46 million from K-12 as opposed to Gov. Chris Gregoire's $630 million cut. (Gregoire wants buy back most of those cuts back by asking voters to apprive a .5 cent sales tax increase.)
However, with the exception of citing the disability lifeline for the disabled (something the governor is already eliminating for $8.6 million), the GOP is not saying what would get cut to make up the difference.
The Spokeman Review's Jim Camden quotes Democratic house ways & means chair, Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48).
Also from Olympia, the Tacoma News Tribune has highlights on which bills didn't make this week's policy cutoff deadline, though with some interesting analysis: While the controversial ed reform bills didn't make it out of committee, they may survive.
TNT reporter Jordan Schrader writes:
The News Tribune and the Spokesman Review have stories on the GOP's "Education First" budget proposal ... or semi-proposal.
The Republicans say they will allocate all education spending before doing any other budgeting on health and human services or public safety, pledging only to cut $46 million from K-12 as opposed to Gov. Chris Gregoire's $630 million cut. (Gregoire wants buy back most of those cuts back by asking voters to apprive a .5 cent sales tax increase.)
However, with the exception of citing the disability lifeline for the disabled (something the governor is already eliminating for $8.6 million), the GOP is not saying what would get cut to make up the difference.
The Spokeman Review's Jim Camden quotes Democratic house ways & means chair, Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48).
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, however, said they produced only a partial document.
“What is required to make this work? We don’t know. Where does the money come from? We don’t know,” said state Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, adding that education is the paramount duty but not the state’s only constitutional duty. “Are all those being met? We don’t know.”
Also from Olympia, the Tacoma News Tribune has highlights on which bills didn't make this week's policy cutoff deadline, though with some interesting analysis: While the controversial ed reform bills didn't make it out of committee, they may survive.
TNT reporter Jordan Schrader writes:
Then there's education reform: Proposals to overhaul teacher evaluations and allow charter schoolsdidn't make it out of committee, but they are tied to businesses' support of a sales tax measure, and they are sure to get more attention as part of any final budget deal.
