The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Jay Inslee, it would seem, is fighting a losing battle in order to win the war.
On Thursday, the governor unveiled the proposed supplemental budget he will present to next year’s Legislature. The headline grabber: Inslee wants to increase the state’s portion of salaries for public-school teachers by $5,000. Hey, anything that would cost an estimated $100 million a year is worth a headline or two.
The case for such a proposition is easy to make. A recent survey of public-school principals across the state found that 80 percent of them reported having to hire underqualified teachers to fill a position in the wake of a national teacher shortage. Gary Kipp, executive director of the Association of Washington School Principals, told KOMO news in Seattle: “What we are really talking about here is not a substitute shortage, it’s a teacher shortage and we are sucking substitutes into the teaching roles to fill those classes.”
During a phone interview Friday with The Columbian’s Editorial Board, Inslee talked about the high number of young teachers who leave the profession after a couple years, chased out by low pay and high stress and a lack of mentoring.
Who can blame them? Teaching can be a rewarding job when you are dealing with students and a thankless job when dealing with everybody else who thinks they know all that ails the education system. “This is where we’re really hemorrhaging teachers,” Inslee said about young instructors. And solving that will require money.
Of course, school funding is the broken record of political discussion in this state, and that goes well beyond pay for teachers. The Legislature is tasked with meeting the demands of the state Supreme Court when it comes to funding basic education, with lawmakers facing a contempt citation and a $100,000-a-day fine until they come up with a plan. Inslee admits that next year’s expected 60-day legislative session will not be adequate for solving the problem, but he hopes to see some ideas develop that can be implemented in 2017.
So the governor came up with a proposal to pay for his raise for teachers — close four tax loopholes to increase revenue. For example, one is an exemption for extracted fuel used by oil refineries, to which Inslee asserted: “Having a classroom teacher to teach algebra right now is more important than some oil industry tax break.”
It’s election season
I agree. But that brings us back to the notion of fighting a losing battle with the goal of winning the war.
Inslee’s tax-loophole closures have been considered and rejected by lawmakers in the past. Something about ending a tax loophole being just another way of saying “tax hike,” which tends to make Republicans break out in hives — or capital letters.
“The 2012 Jay Inslee that was running for governor said that new taxes are the wrong direction for Washington. I believe THAT Jay Inslee … any new taxes are STILL the wrong direction,” Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, wrote in a press release. State Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger and the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said: “We find it disappointing that Gov. Inslee has decided to trot out four tax increases we’ve all seen before.”
While the headlines for now trumpet Inslee supporting a pay raise for teachers, a couple months from now they are certain to say, “Legislators reject Inslee’s pay raise for teachers.”
That’s the way politics are played. Inslee is reaching out to one of his core constituencies by supporting teachers, and he will continue to extend a hand throughout next year’s re-election campaign. Sure, it would take a cataclysmic turn for a Republican to capture the governor’s office in this state, but you still need to invigorate your base if you are going to win the war.
Meanwhile, as both sides play politics with school funding, the collateral damage is being seen in the form of students.
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