It's June 2nd. Do you know where your legislators are?
You can probably rule out Olympia, since it seems the only folks in town are the budget writers and the 8 members of the Ed Funding Task Force. And even they are hard to find.
Which is somewhat of a concern, because in 21 days, the second special session ends. With budget negotiations moving at glacial speed, that doesn't seem like much time, especially since the fiscal year ends just one week after that. If no budget is agreed upon by June 30, the legislature will need to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown.
An
editorial in The Columbian calls out both sides, accusing legislators of a "dereliction of duty," and says they're "clinging to intractable positions" that will result in an agreement "born of desperation," rather than "thoughtful compromise."
We know that the necessity of finally settling on a McCleary fix is a big part of the budget hold-up, and one of the complexities of that fix is the formula known as the staff-mix factor. Check out this 2-minute
video for a great explanation of staff-mix (if you can get past the weird yoga music in the background).
@nealmorton has a good
story about this in a recent Seattle Times' Ed Lab. He writes that some interest groups believe the staff-mix factor feeds inequity and hurts the neediest districts, which already have a tough time hiring and retaining experienced teachers. Others, including Chris Reykdal, say doing away with the formula would create a "guaranteed free-for-all" as districts would be fighting to hire the least expensive teachers.
So many opinions, so little time!
Since Governor Inslee isn't busy signing a budget, he's turned his attention to work-based learning. At Wednesday's
Summit on Career Connected Learning, he unveiled the new Career Connect Washington Task Force. A
story in The Seattle Medium describes the public-private partnership, which aims to
address the need for more business mentors, strengthen career planning in schools, expand apprenticeship opportunities, build connections between educators and industry and improve access to rural and underserved communities.
Odds & Ends
We love this line from a
powerful
essay
by teacher, Anne Beatty, in Atlantic Monthly: "
Pity means I tell students who I think they are; empathy means I ask them, again and again, to tell me who they are."
Have a great weekend!
