For the Reporter
Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, joined with Senate colleagues Tuesday to introduce a new two-year budget proposal that increases funding for K-12 education by 17 percent and reduces college tuition by an average of 25 percent without increasing taxes.
The plan provides an additional $1.3 billion to fully fund K-12 education providing all-day kindergarten for all children by 2016 and reducing class size in grades kindergarten through third, prioritizing low-income communities.
“At a time when the state is taking in an additional $3 billion more due to economic growth, taxpayers expect government to live within its means” said Fain, who serves as Majority Floor Leader and is a member of the Senate Leadership team. “This plan shows you can make substantial investments in education, make our communities safer and protect our most vulnerable citizens, without taking more money from taxpayers.”
The Senate budget plan fully funds K-12 education, specifically addressing the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision and provides a cost of living wage increase for all public school teachers. Tuition at state colleges and universities would also be reduced for the first time since at least the 1970’s.
“This year a student at the University of Washington pays almost $11,000 for tuition,” Fain said. “Under the Senate plan that student would pay $7,500 two years from now. That has a major impact for students and their families both now and well into the future.”
The Senate budget also prioritizes senior citizens by increasing investigations of elder abuse and neglect as well as increasing the Senior Citizen Property Tax exemption for the first time in a decade, helping more than 100,000 low-income seniors. The plan also provides funding to reduce the number of DUIs an individual can receive before being charged with a felony and invests more than $70 million into improving mental health programs in the state.
The budget is expected to be voted on by the full Senate by the end of the week as the Legislature moves toward its April 26 completion.
