When Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the basic education funding bill Tuesday, May 19, it brought a “bittersweet” end to a three-year journey by Medina’s Rep. Ross Hunter.
House Bill 2261 redefines “basic education” and sets in motion the rewrite of the funding formulas that allocate dollars to school districts.
Gregoire vetoed two sections of the bill. Section 115 essentially calls for including early learning for at-risk children in the definition of “basic education” and initiated a work group to begin the process of developing a statewide early learning program. Section 709 establishes additional support for the highly capable program.
Hunter, a Democrat, served on both the Washington Learns advisory committee for K-12 and Basic Education Funding Task Force. While he applauded the passage of House Bill 2261, he expressed concerns about the governor’s decision to veto the early learning provisions.
“This is a bittersweet day for those who have worked so hard to pass HB 2261, the first significant change to the Basic Education Act in more than 30 years,” Hunter said. “I’m excited the governor signed the bill, and appreciate the amazing efforts of all those who helped craft this legislation – the parents, teachers, administrators and legislators. It’s been inspiring to watch so many work together – not always in agreement – in the best interest of our children.”
Hunter said the legislation makes “crucial changes” to the state’s funding system that he said will have a “tangible impact” in students lives.
“I’m excited about the new model schools budgeting model, changes to data collection, and our clear commitment to CORE 24, the effort to ensure our children graduate from high school prepared for jobs that don’t require paper hats,” Hunter said.
Hunter said that while he was “disappointed” that the governor vetoed the early learning portion of the bill, “I understand her concerns about singling out one population of students.”
However, he added, “we already do that with many of the current elements we consider basic education, such as the English Language Learners program and Learning Assistance Program.”
Hunter noted that research he has seen shows that early learning significantly improves the quality of educational outcomes in children, “particularly our at-risk children. When children start behind, they stay behind,” he said.
Hunter said that those who worked on the bill will go back and revisit the early learning issues and try to address the Governor’s concerns, but that the group is not backing down from the commitment to early learning.
“One day, every child in this state will have access to early learning, but for now we have to start somewhere,” Hunter said.
