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Basic Ed Finance Task Force does a press conference
The “Big Six” legislators did a press conference about releasing our bills into the wild. It was a bit of a stumbling performance – none of us do these things regularly, but it seemed interesting to the crowd that was in Olympia to attend the hearings. I hear they filled two rooms in the Senate…
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Basic education funding task force releases final report to the Legislature
Ed system overhaul would include changes to teacher pay, additional class time  For immediate release – January 14, 2009 The task force that spent nearly two years reviewing Washington’s definition of “basic education†and the funding structure to support it has released its final recommendations for an overhaul of the state’s K-12 funding system.…
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2009 Legislative Agenda
This year will be particularly difficult due to the national economic disaster. Unlike the federal government, Washington is required to have a balanced budget. Our budget situation is dire, and will require dramatic measures. I try to be organized about how I approach a legislative session, particularly one as difficult as this is likely to…
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Initial Thoughts on the Budget
At the time I write this the national economy is in free-fall, with banks and other businesses failing right and left. The car companies may be next. So far the two biggest employers in WA — Boeing and Microsoft — are still in good shape, but there are concerns if the overall economy is in…
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Seat Belts in School Buses
I reacted the same way many of you did when I heard from my son about the Bellevue High School football team bus rolling over – I was horrified. We followed the news all afternoon via phone from the Tacoma dome where he was waiting to photograph the game. (Check out his pictures at www.jackhunterphoto.com.…
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Basic Education Funding Task Force
I’m a member of the Basic Education Financing Task Force (BEFTF,) a group appointed by the legislature and the governor to try to re-write how K-12 education is funded in Washington. This is the reason I originally ran for the legislature in 2002, and has been a very long term project for me. The current…