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SCHOOLS: McCleary FAILS!!!!

 Reuven CarlyleWA State Senator Reuven Carlyle FACEBOOK

It is time to acknowledge that despite honorable efforts private bipartisan negotiations on McCleary this year failed to result in the introduction of meaningful legislation. While its true the Legislature has met key deadlines, we likely face three astronomical balloon payments of money and policy in 2017: 1) full education funding in 2017-19 (invoice is $3.5B); 2) structure and level of local school levies; 3) policy issues such as compensation for teachers, bargaining and more. Paramount duty.

Susan Goding icoSusan Goding The Senate Republican apparently think that they can pay all of this by overturning Eyman initiative 747, that freezes property tax increases to 1% a year, and impose a state property tax increase. I like SB 6093, which removes the exemptions for intangible taxes, but I suspect that will not be enough. I hope the Ds spend this next year talking about the choices that are being made about how to pay for this. People are not anti-tax when they know what the money is for. Witness that a high percentage of school levies are passed. Even parks, fire district, and other local levies are passed by people who are well aware that they are increasing their taxes. Make the case for not taxing poor people, and that most of will need to pay a different tax in order to make the system fairer. Also talk about funding the Washington State Earned Income remittance as a way to create a more equitable system Also, raising the minimum wage and subsidizing childcare should be part of the conversation since those two changes would also improve equity in this state.

Susan Goding Go big, adequately fund education, mental health systems, higher ed, childcare and infrastructure. The Rs have to be willing to admit their user fees are not the solution since they are crying so hard about the tolls on I405.

Amina Ghaddar SuchoskiAmina Ghaddar SuchoskiWe really appreciated your video on WA’s tax base and reform needs at last night’s PTA meeting at Whitman Middle School ,Reuven Carlyle. Thank you for your leadership on this!
Susan GodingWe need $5 billion more per year.

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