Tonight, the House Appropriations Committee in our state House of Representatives is holding a hearing on two important education bills – the Republican plan to cut funding for schools across the state, which is SB 5607, and the Democratic plan to raise teacher salaries and fully fund education, HB 1843.
The Republican plan would cut school funding for 605,000 students, raise the largest property tax increase in state history on middle class families, and hurt teachers and students by cutting standards across the state and opening the door to privatization of our entire school system. By contrast, the Democratic plan would invest $7.5 billion in raising teacher salaries, lowering class sizes, and reducing local levies to save local taxpayers money on their property tax bills. While the Republican bill is paid for with a regressive property tax, the Democratic proposal could be paid for with a capital gains tax on the richest 1%, a carbon tax on big polluting corporations, reforming our B&O tax or closing tax breaks.
At the hearing, teachers, parents, school administers, and education advocates all weighed in to support the Democratic proposal. But our legislators need to hear from you too. Both bills are in the House Appropriations Committee – the phone numbers of the members of the committee are:
Vincent Buys-R LD 42, Lynden 360-786-7854
Michelle Caldier-R LD 26, Port Orrchard 360-786-7802
Bruce Chandler-R LD 15, Granger 360-786-7960
Cary Condotta-R LD 12, Wenatchee 360-786-7954
Larry Haler-R LD 8, Richland 360-786-7986
Paul Harris-R LD 17, Vancouver 360-786-7976
Drew MacEwen-R LD 35, Union 360-786-7902
Matt Manweller-R LD 13, Ellensburg 360-786-7808
Terry Nealey-R LD 16, Dayton 360-786-7828
Joe Schmick-R LD 9, Colfax 360-786-7844
Drew Stokesbary-R LD 31, Auburn 360-786-7846
David Taylor-R LD 15, Moxee 360-786-7874
Brandon Vick-R LD 18, Felida 360-786-7850
Mike Volz-R LD 6, Spokane 360-786-7922
J.T. Wilcox-R LD 2, Yelm 360-786-7912
Steve Bergquist-D LD 11, Renton 360-786-7862
Eileen Cody-D LD 34, Seattle 360-786-7978
Joe Fitzgibbon-D LD 34, Burien 360-786-7952
Drew Hansen-D LD 23, Bainbridge Island 360-786-7842
Zack Hudgins-D LD 11, Tukwila 360-786-7956
Laurie Jinkins-D LD 27, Tacoma 360-786-7930
Ruth Kagi-D LD 32, Seattle 360-786-7910
Kristine Lytton-D LD 40, Anacortes 360-786-7800
Timm Ormsby-D LD 3, Spokane 360-786-7946
Eric Pettigrew-D LD 37, Seattle 360-786-7838
Gerry Pollet-D LD 46, Seattle 360-786-7886
June Robinson-D LD 38, Everett 360-786-7864
David Sawyer-D LD 29, Parkland 360-786-7906
Tana Senn-D LD 41, Mercer Island 360-786-7894
Larry Springer-D LD 45, Kirkland 360-786-7822
Derek Stanford-D LD 1, Bothell 360-786-7928
Pat Sullivan-D LD 47, Covington 360-786-7858
Steve Tharinger-D LD 24, Dungeness 360-786-7904
CALL and let them know that you support the HB 1843, the Democratic plan to improve our schools, not the GOP Senate plan to cut funding for hundreds of thousands of Washington students and punish our teachers.