A message from Julie Barrett
Happy Saturday!
Around 8pm last night I got word that a bill had dropped - yes, on a Friday evening!! - and was scheduled for a hearing on Monday and expected to be voted out of committee in the very same meeting. That means the committee is suspending the 5 day rule for the urgency of the matter. It must be very important - or if you’re a Washington citizen who’s been paying attention for the last few decades - VERY BAD and they’d like for it to go unnoticed.
It is the latter - it’s a very bad bill and they don’t want you to know.
We know.
Let’s get into this, shall we?
(TLDR? Click the image below to sign in CON )
A little background:
In the 2022 session when I first started dipping my toe in this legislation stuff, HB 1590 was the very first of very bad bills that I, through CLW, asked citizens to engage and take action on. HB 1590 was a bill to fund “ghost students” in public schools due to the loss of students during Covid. The legislature decided that it needed to fund WA public schools based on 2019 (pre-covid) enrollment numbers. Similarly, they scheduled HB 1590 for a public hearing on a Saturday morning in early February 2022, adding it to the schedule the night before. Ultimately, this bill passed in 2022 and the funding runs out at the end of the current school year.
Enter HB 2494.
“The legislature intends to increase funding for materials, supplies, and operating costs in schools to address evolving operational needs.”
The average per pupil expenditure in Washington state is $18,175, that’s almost $4,000 higher than the national average. Furthermore, Washington has increased its share of basic education funding from 67% in 2012 to 77% in 2020, as a result of the McCleary decision and subsequent legislation.
This bill doesn’t address the root causes of student achievement gaps or improve the quality of education. The bill simply throws more money at the education “system” for materials, supplies, and operating costs, without any accountability or evidence of impact.
All session long we have seen legislators of both political parties, propose new policies that would create additional funding or mandates for different programs and services (many of which have no place in the public education system - ie: funding more school based health centers) while failing to address the fact that only 50.7% of WA students are meeting ELA standards, 39.1% meeting math standards and just 42.9% meeting science standards.
We’ve also seen several bills proposed to address the fact that school districts cannot pass their levies. The legislature has been working this session to lower the threshold of votes needed to pass levies, which would require an amendment to the state constitution. These bills have failed to advance…enter HB 2494. Instead of giving the taxpayers a voice…just take their money.
How much taxpayer funding are we talking about here?
The fiscal note for this bill estimates that it would cost $1.2 billion in the 2023-25 biennium and $2.5 billion in the 2025-27 biennium. This is a huge amount of money! Moreover, this bill would reduce the local levy authority of school districts, which would limit their flexibility and autonomy to raise and spend funds according to their own needs and preferences.
What can you do?
If all you’ve got is 30 seconds, click the button below to sign in CON for HB 2494.
The hearing is 10:30AM on Monday (yes, when most taxpaying citizens are at work) and you can sign up to testify remotely or in person HERE
Remember: It’s an election year. If citizens can put enough pressure on legislators to signal that it would not be politically advantageous for them to pass HB 2494, it’s possible we can kill it. When you sign in, your legislators can see if you’re in their district. Don’t be silent - that’s exactly what they want.
Will you join me tonight in Woodinville? I’m super excited for our first ever SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE with my friend, Bill Kirk, President of Washington Gun Law. We’ll be broadcasting live on his YouTube channel from 6-7 at Securite Gun Club and then afterwards we’ll head over to Triple Horn Brewery. It’s going to be a great time and an opportunity to make new likeminded friends. Even if you’re not a “gun person”, please come out - it’s going to be a blast!
It’s a free event. Just let us know you’re coming: https://www.votervoice.net/CLWA/Events/7639/Register
Please consider contributing to Conservative Ladies by making a donation or upgrading to a paid subscription/membership to support our work to defend and advance conservative policy in Washington and beyond. Thank you!
Thank you! Did it, and passed info. on. 👍