The legislative logjam of schools-related bills in Olympia is a term paper on politics at its worst.
For something that is supposed to be lawmakers’ constitutionally mandated top priority, you’d think that bills making public education stronger would sail through both Senate and House on a strong bipartisan breeze. You’d be wrong.
Democrats are pushing for lowering the threshold for passage of school levies to the same level that most other, and remember, constitutionally less important issues must have – 50 percent approval.
The Democrats say the Republicans are playing quid pro quo with the simple-majority measure, looking for a little back-scratching in the form of opening the state to charter schools.
At first blush, it sounds OK; two bills, both about schools, both freeing things up … let’s do it.
The reality is that yes, these bills are both about public education but come at the subject from opposite ends of the spectrum with one seeking support public education while the other kicks at a leg of the stool.
The simple-majority bill is the right thing to do because it levels the playing field. Why should school levies have to jump higher than other measures put to the voters? A majority of voters in several local school districts have recently said yes to school funding measures. However, those measures didn’t get the required super-majority and went down to defeat.
True, the simple-majority bill isn’t a cure-all for public education funding woes in all situations.
Some smaller districts in more rural areas have never passed a levy and setting bar at 50 percent wouldn’t help those in struggling economic areas. That’s a different problem, one of equal and adequate state funding for public schools, and one that also needs to be addressed.
As for charter schools, proponents say an alternative is needed to free public education from onerous regulations. And besides, they say, charter schools are still public schools, getting public funds.
If public schools are so handcuffed by regulations that we need a second system, how about a bill to fix the one we’ve got?
Public schools are no longer just an education delivery system, they have become a social-services delivery system, too.
Educators didn’t ask for that role, society asked them to do it. If voters want higher test scores, instead of embracing take-‘em-to-the woodshed approaches like the federal No Child Left Behind Act, how about asking for legislation that would allow teachers more time to actually teach?
Over the years, as more and more non-teaching duties have been piled on teachers’ plates, the frustration that has spawned the push for charter schools is understandable. However, the answer isn’t a further stratification of the thing that is a cornerstone of America, public education.
Lawmakers need to remember this government’s primary role is to support public education and start handing out grades, and votes, to the bills that do just that.
Jim Hills is publisher of The Enterprise Newspapers.
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