Budget agreement in principle, but no details until Thursday at the earliest

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday morning that legislators have a state budget deal “in principle,” but no details have been released.

We’ll post budget information as soon as we have it, whenever that is.

Legislators have announced a budget briefing Thursday morning. WEA members who have the time and availability are encouraged to meet Thursday at 10:30 am on the capitol steps in Olympia. Educators should tell legislators exactly how the budget will affect their students – information lawmakers need before they vote.

A small number of legislators have been negotiating the budget in private. If the Legislature doesn’t pass a budget before July 1, some state agencies and services will shut down. K-12 public schools wouldn’t immediately be directed affected.

We need to make sure legislators stay focused on amply funding K-12 public schools as required by the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision and the state Constitution. Under McCleary, the Legislature must amply fund K-12 public schools by a Sept.1, 2018 deadline.

Reports indicate that in exchange for increased state funding for schools, legislators from both parties are considering major limits on voters' ability to pass local schools levies, which are essential to meeting students' unique needs.

They want to limit local control in our public schools and allow bureaucrats and politicians in Olympia to micromanage our schools.

And they want to limit our ability to bargain beyond state-funded base salaries.

Email your legislators and urge them to pass a budget that fully funds K-12 education and protects local control, local levies and local collective bargaining rights for educators.

Here are WEA’s 2017 goals, which were approved by the WEA Board of Directors prior to the regular legislative session, which started in January. Legislators are now in their third special session.