Letter to the Editor: Initiatives pose threat to public education funding

I did not realize that in this election cycle, Washington voters will have two education-related initiatives to consider.

One is Initiative 1185. In a nutshell, it requires a two-thirds majority of the legislature to increase taxes. In other words, a one-third minority can stop any funding for education in the state if the majority of the legislature approves it, among other issues. The state Supreme Court has ruled that the legislature must fully fund education, which it has not been doing for years even though voters have consistently wanted that done.

If 1185 passes, the state’s ability to fully fund education through tax increases will come to a standstill, making it practically impossible to increase or even restore basic education funding. Thus, in spite of the court decision, education cuts will likely be on the way.

An addedd problem is that the rule of “simple majority plus 1” will be replaced by a minority deciding what direction education will take in the state. We see how that problem restricts Congress with its 60-vote requirement in the Senate -- nothing much gets done for the country. Now, the state may be faced with a similar fate and not much will get done here either, especially as far as education is concerned.

The other is Initiative 1240. This initiative proposes 40 publicly funded charter schools for the state of Washington. Voters have rejected charter school initiatives three times in the past. Now, it is up for a fourth vote of the people.

If 1240 passes, some public funds will be diverted to charter schools even though the state is supposed to fully fund public education as per the state Supreme Court ruling. Research studies on charter schools over the years have shown two results for charter schools – 1) they perform as well as public schools or 2) public schools outperform charter schools. I do not understand why taxpayers would want to spend public money on charter schools to get the same educational results found in public schools or make such results worse for charter schools.

No matter how you view these initiatives, voters have two more decisions to make by November 6.

Thank you.

Duane Pitts

Odessa