Governor calls for new taxes to reform basic education

sonshineboys said on May 1, 2010 at 5:36 PM

Gregoire is such a CROOK! She keeps taking, taking and taking from Washington. The schools are always getting NOTHING and she is doing the same...NOTHING! She bought her way into office she needs to be BOOTED out of office. DINO WOULD OF DONE A MUCH BETTER JOB BUT HE WAS BOUGHT OUT! MORE DISHONEST GOVERNMENT (GREGOIRE) AND LOOK WHERE IS HAS GOTTEN US! WE ARE LEAVING THIS STATE AND NEVER LOOKING BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE CAN KEEP TAXING YOU POOR PEOPLE WHO STAY BUT MY ADVICE "GO DINO...YOU HAVE A BIG JOB TO FIX HER MISTAKES" GOOD LUCK DINO! HOPE YOU CAN WIN! WASHINGTON'S ONLY LAST HOPE!

wazzujon said on March 31, 2010 at 8:05 AM

My wife was a Paraeducator for 9 years in a special needs class. 2 years ago she graduated with a teaching degree and is currently getting her Masters. She has 4 principals saying they all would create a job for her if they could. She is a great teacher. She had a 1 year (maternity) contract last year. This year she is a sub. Part of the problem is that the classrooms are getting bigger and bigger. In some classes thats fine, but in classrooms where the kids have no respect the teachers are having to manage the classroom instead of teach. ALso in those schools there tends to be less parent involvement. Parent will make a school succeed. If there is no parent involvement the school will suffer. THe other issue is that teachers who need to retire arent retiring. If they dont retire they cant be replaced with new teachers, who are making alot less. They need to force retire and the principal needs to be able to fire bad teachers. In otherwords the union is part of the problem.

east2west1 said on February 15, 2010 at 8:48 AM

If the evaluation of a teacher is linked with the scores on standardized tests, students can conspire to deliberately answer questions incorrectly in order to "take down" a strict teacher or someone they have a grudge against over a disciplinary issue. There is no disincentive for a class to deliberately lower its scores on a standardized test.

truth_detector said on February 15, 2010 at 12:23 AM

BTW: For almost two years I have challenged teachers and WEA leaders to address the issues in John Stossel's "Stupid in America" report and they have run from it so fast it makes your head spin. NOT ONE has ever accepted the challenge, in fact they ignore every single call out about it. Why? Because they can't refute it, know it is 100% true, and that they can't risk results orriented education from ever being considered in this state. So here we go again. Step up and have some integrity... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw

steveche said on February 14, 2010 at 11:20 PM

You cannot treat education and teachers like a business and base a teacher's salary on the "product." First, children are not products to be stamped out like crackers in a factory. Second, teachers do not have control over all aspects of their jobs. They cannot control how actively parents participate in their child's (children's) education. They cannot control how much of an effort students put into their education. Students are in school for a little more than 6 hours a day. Teachers cannot possibly teach a student everything s/he needs to know in that amount of time. Until parents, students and communities step up, teachers' pay should not be based upon a product of which they do not have complete control. Merit pay has no business in education.

east2west1 said on February 14, 2010 at 8:55 PM

I agree that there should be a state income tax, and not just for education. There should also be a tax on any job for which employers import a foreign worker rather than a US citizen, green card holder, or H1-B worker already residing in the local area. There should be a tax on the use of foreign employment agencies as opposed to American employment agencies. The federal government should tax soft drinks and heavily sweetened, low glycemis index foods. Diabetes accounts for 20% of the cost of Medicare, so the behaviors that drive this cost should be taxed.

east2west1 said on February 14, 2010 at 8:47 PM

UW misspent money hiring a private actuarial firm, Milliman, to study the salaries of UW staff members in comprarison to the rest of the country. This is on the UW HR website. I don't understand why this type of totally wasted expenditure should be allowed. It contributes nothing to the education of the students. Remember that not only does the university collect tuition from parents, the state and the federal government. About half of the money in science research grants is allocated for university overhead. The study showed that the administrators of large projects are being paid far above the national average, but that research scientists and engineers are paid far below the national level, especially at the higher levels. The details of university budgets and expenditures need to be reported on by the press.

east2west1 said on February 14, 2010 at 8:41 PM

The real problem is higher education and not K-12 education. Parents and the state government pay tuition money, but for unknown reasons no one questions the enormous salaries paid to top university officials. I am sure that Emmert is an outstanding person and leader, but the state cannot afford to pay a university president $900,000 per year. Universities are supposed to be a place for people who are willing to earn less beause of the opportunity to pursue their love for learning. Now they have become a fast track with salaries way above the level managers earn in private industry. Private business is filled with Ph.D.s with management experience who are accostomed to earning in the range of $150,000. Twenty years ago the president of an Ivy League university I graduated from earned only $150,000.

east2west1 said on February 14, 2010 at 8:35 PM

Our Senators should get up on the Senate floor and lambast this ridiculous policy from Obama and Duncan. I agree with the previous writers in this forum. Student achievement is going to be limited if the students in a low income school have low IQs or learning disabilities. Measures that will improve student achievement include healthy school lunches, adequate exercise classes and increased pre-kindergarten and kindergarten support. I also don;t think that standardized tests are the best way to motivate students. I am a Democrat but I did not vote for Obama in the 2008 primary and I will be happy to vote for another Democrat in 2012.

turkeyday45 said on February 14, 2010 at 7:38 PM

I am all in favor of President Obama's administration setting a national standard. Education is a national priority and gets us out of local turf battles. I am also in favor of tax increases in this dire economy. Eventually we will need to bite the bullet & start a state income tax in order to reduce our regressive tax structure.

livfinne2 said on February 14, 2010 at 4:07 PM

Spending more on basic education has not and will not reform schools. Schools already spend $10 billion a year from all state, local, and federal sources ($10,274 per pupil). Since 1998, we have increased per pupil spending by 63%, up sharply from the $6318 per pupil we spent in 1998-9. Yet, according to a 2008 State Board of Education study, 64% of schools are only adequate or failing. Less than half of 10th grade students pass the math or science WASL. The system is broken. School officials are prevented by a host of regulations and practices from doing what is necessary to improve schools. Principals must be given the tools they need to place effective teachers in every classroom and to give these teachers the pay and support they need. We need Race to the Top reforms (who else is going to leverage change here?) and we need to put the principal in charge, or we'll simply get the same abysmal results at a higher price.

ericdawes said on February 14, 2010 at 4:00 PM

At least SOME steps are being taken now (Quality Education efforts & HB2261, court decision, etc.) that are generally pointing us in the right direction. Interesting to read the feedback from teachers on merit issues that otherwise might not be considered .. thanks for posting those. One issue that concerns me is because of the notoriety of some WA school districts, we have some families finding ways to falsify address information and, in some cases, even "dropping off" kids to live in the district while parents move back to original country. This means we end up supporting kids in a public system with no olffsetting revenue on tax collection. Districts often shrug this off (mostly because of P/R implications) -- but we are seeing this more and more in districts such as Bellevue where school reputations (e.g. Newsweek Top 100) are highly coveted by some on a transcript. Fixing this won't solve the $$ crisis -- but it deserves, at least, fair visibility.

motivate1 said on February 14, 2010 at 12:57 PM

I am not a K-12 teacher, but I have observed what they are up against. A broken system that focuses more on outcomes than the actual process of learning. The politics of parents who either don't value education themselves and look at teachers as glorified babysitters; or overbearing parents who want teachers in overcrowded classroooms to make special exceptions for their children and don't hold their own children accountable for their behaviors. Teachers are underpaid and undervalued. It seems that the majority that remain in the profession truly want to make a difference in the lives of the children in their classrooms but their hands are tied by politics and underfunded initiatives. The concern around linking teacher pay to test scores is that so much more is involved with whether or not a student learns than what goes on in the classroom. The environment outside the classroom may play a larger role than the environment in the classroom. Education is a process not an outccome!

cm0274 said on February 14, 2010 at 12:41 PM

It is true that not every student desires to go to college, and there are trade schools out there for them to go to. I would hate to see students having to make a decision in Middle/Jr High as to what direction they want to go...trade school/ college corriculum. Especially with raging hormones and all the other pyschological grown they are experiencing at that time. This is America - supposedly the land of opportunity. The point is, there is a very large precentage of High School students that do take "Running Start," type classes at the High School....this is a college like class available at the High School...so there are some that don't want to go to college, but there are a lot that do...and jump in to before they leave high school. K-12 education is extremely important, but so is a college/trade school education to get beyond the poverty level. I am not willing to give up my middle class status, and with out post highschool education that is what I would be doing!

barend318 said on February 14, 2010 at 12:31 PM

Washington State, with the corp strength we have and income that if offers, should be embarrassed that we are so negative re funding our public schools. Try living in a pro-education state and then you'll realize how important public education really is and what it indirectly offers its residents. Sadly, after charter schools etc were eliminated we lost fed funds. Ed needs to be revamped but politicians are gutless and the voters too cheap. Our high income residents send their kids to private. That means that no money support and no energy/effort is directed to public as it should be if public was excellent. In our extended family, there are four in private at a minimum of 17K per with another going next year. Two are in highly capable in public as the income is lower. How sad that kids can't get a good ed K thru 12 in public schools and that residents here are so cheap that they won't help the kids. They are our future; we all pay the price..grrrrrrrrr

cm0274 said on February 14, 2010 at 12:24 PM

Our education system is so far gone that throwing money at it is not the solution. Maybe by restructing the money going into the school system would help. I do believe that teachers need to be accountable for our students education, and there needs to be monetary incentives. If we do not have good teachers who want to teach, then that is going to carry over to students that don't want to learn. Good teacher either know how to engage their students or research ways to do so. And accountability is everything! I see peoples cmments about special education, and think this is a sad excuse not to have accountability. Their accountability is a successful IEP, not a WASL or other test that a normal child fits into. I think we need to make it worthwhile for teachers to be teachers and not feel they have to move up a preverbal ladder to become an adminstrator. I think our overall education system is too adminstrative heavy...which boosts the overall payroll of education.

dannnyg said on February 14, 2010 at 12:03 PM

I think a lot of you just miss the point! Education standards in foreign countries and cost per pupil comparisons to non profit church organizations are like comparing Washington apples to an Apple Macintosh. Get real...figuring out the cost of education is more than taking the salary of the private school teacher and dividing by the number of students in the classroom. What is a good point, is the fact that many students do not want to be in school (at least at the High School level) or they are not learning through the traditional textbook, study and homework method. Instead of helping these kids WHILE THEY ARE IN GRADESCHOOL.... We wait for them to drop out and then try to fix them later in life through the community college, higer ed system. Why don't we have trade schools an more alternative learning programs which actually prepare a high school student for real life careers, instead of college? Not every student in High School desires anything to do with college.

carlosrikki said on February 14, 2010 at 11:59 AM

The Gov. continues to say we will cut public services without increased taxes. Note she passed a major "thanks you" for the casinos by not taxing them. Why can she not resend that even for a short term and get a new source of taxes. Like the short term Gov. lock did, 10 years exempt for anyone competing in the casino business to allow the Indians a head start. We all know that they still have a monopoly and it went on for 15 plus years. Consider what has happpened: No smoking in public business areas. This drove the smokers to the casinos and out of our local card rooms and bars. This was done to protect the employees at these business. Are not the employees at the casino employees who live in Washington that this law was passed to protect. What is it with the politicians.... The Indians can vote on any Washington State items, This is great for the protection of the Indians busines. But Washington folks can not vote on Indian issues. She needs to consider new areas for taxing.

rlsauer52 said on February 14, 2010 at 11:33 AM

Having retired after thirty years as a meat cutter, I am now a second career teaher. Every tme I hear a debate on education one huge item is left out, the students. Learning is not a spectator sport. When I see incentive pay on the table I wonder what about the students that just don't want to learn, don't want to be there, yet can't drop out due to previous legislation. Too much is being put on the backs of teachers, yet we seem to have no voice outside going through the union. There is a bigger problem than just money in the way of school reform and I don't believe it is being addressed at all.

pdfcruzin0995756 said on February 14, 2010 at 10:49 AM

I teach special education students 9th - 12th grades. My students are the lowest functioning children in our district; they have functional goals rather than academic. These goals include (in part) holding a pencil correctly and writing their name. The lowest functioning student is learning to walk up and down stairs unassisted and use American Sign Language to make the sign for "water" and "more". If my pay is tied to student achievement; what scale or standard do you propose for my students? Will my pay be attached to their performance on the new state test? Perhaps my pay could be attached to the scholarships they obtain or a grade point average? Shall the state spend more money to send special auditors to all special education classes to measure individual performance? I question the logic regarding tying teacher pay to student performance. I wonder how Mr. Obama and Governor Gregoire conclude this is a valid way to measure teacher training and effectiveness.

quitjackingus said on February 14, 2010 at 10:29 AM

Our education system is ill and requires serious overhaul (only the folks who live in expensive neighborhoods have the advantage of being in better schools) the rest of us are screwed! To make matters worse, as a nation we spend more money in our prison system, it's almost like we have an assembly line for making criminals and prison is their school, when they get out they become much better criminals and so the cycle continues. The U.S. spends more money in education than some poor countries who have more student population and they tend to produce better students who are better in Math, Science, English; clearly money is not the issue here, we have a lot of lazy, bad teachers who can't teach and their union protects them instead of protecting our, GET RID OF THE BAD TEACHERS. Our country is heading to the "point of no return" if we don't improve the things that matters the most, our kids... Olympia STOP bickering stop protecting your union cronies, fix this problem soon!

annebella said on February 14, 2010 at 10:28 AM

I completely agree with choff that money is not the problem. Nor are teachers the problem. I think most teachers in the public school system are doing the best job they can with what they have to work with. The public schools are just a reflection of society in general. In a society full of broken families, moral relativism, violence in the schools, etc., it's not realistic to expect our students to achieve. Schools and more money will not solve this problem.

rentoncitizen said on February 14, 2010 at 10:20 AM

The amount of money we are spending per student in public schools is as much or more than the tuition fees for private Schools. So dumping more money to school district without a drastic reform in the system will not do anything to improve the quality of public educations. The two changes need to happen if we want to see a drastic impovement in our public educations. 1. Teachers pay will be based on performance 2. Need Charter Schools to compete with public schools. Run the public schools like private schools in terms of curicullum.

marysaurs said on February 14, 2010 at 10:09 AM

The Federal Government is forcing their idea of change down our throats. The money they are offering is not going to make much difference to all of the districts in our state. Mary Saurs

marysaurs said on February 14, 2010 at 10:07 AM

As a teacher, I understand that we need some accountability for our jobs, however........ My main concerns for teacher pay for performance is that no one is going to want to teach the students who struggle or are behavior problems because they might bring your pay down. Will the State only look at subjects that are tested? What about the theater teacher? On the other hand, I will also have to rely on the teacher before me. I teach 9th grade math and get students who are at a third grade level. I see both sides, let teachers teach and give us the respect and power to hold the student accountable for learning the material. Mary Saurs

choff said on February 14, 2010 at 10:05 AM

Money will not solve this problem! Until we return schools to places where education takes place, without distractions, and aggressively engage the reluctant parents in this venture we will continue to allow kids to grow up without the skills needed. Education is hard work on the part of students and this doesn't seem to be taken very seriously by many students and parents. It is time to re-evaluate how we do "Education!"

dannnyg said on February 14, 2010 at 10:01 AM

Pre comment: I created a new account just to post this comment. That is how strongly I feel about this. Priority #1: Basic education, K-12, is the most important...I repeat, is the most important thing in our budget. It is the foundation for which all people of the State of Washington depend on, rely upon and deserve to have. #2: Higher Education is not, I repeat...Higher Education is not anywhere near as important as any of the other things that we must fund. This is just a hidden tax increase for Higher Education because if the goal was to balance the budget, and reform K-12, then the money we all contribute would be used for K-12, and not for Higher Educaiton. It is time to look at the priorities. Which is it? College education for everybody, or basic K-12 for everybody? Don't put the cart before the horse Governor. Divert the fund for Higher Ed into the K-12 accounts so we can, once again, have a world class public school system.