This Week in Olympia
WEA higher education leaders visit Olympia to lobby for faculty pay
One thing we often remind legislators – WEA represents both K-12 educators and higher education faculty and support staff.
This week, WEA leaders from community and technical colleges visited Olympia for a joint lobby day with AFT Washington, another union that represents educators.
The WEA leaders met with Rep. Drew Hansen, chair of the House College and Workforce Development Committee. During their meeting, educators stressed the need to increase state funding to provide competitive salaries for college faculty. It’s difficult to attract and retain enough qualified faculty, especially now that many WEA K-12 locals have negotiated significant pay raises.
“I would make $21,000 more as a K-12 teacher based on experience and education,” said Sue Nightingale, president of Bellevue College AHE.
The need for competitive faculty pay is an issue across the state.
“That’s our concern – losing faculty to K-12 schools,” said Patrick Tracy, president of Wenatchee Valley College AHE.
Budgets, budgets, budgets
This Week in Olympia, the House released its general fund and capital budgets, as well as a revenue plan. The Senate will follow suit today, and hold a hearing on it Monday. We will provide a side-by-side comparison of the highlights early next week. Stay tuned.
