BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — The head of Washington’s education department says there are other ways to balance the state budget without cutting basic education.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn thinks some of the governor’s proposals for closing the state’s $2 billion budget cap would hurt kids. He told a gathering of the Washington State School Directors Association on Friday he doesn’t want to see levy equalization cut and he doesn’t want the state to increase class sizes.
Instead, Dorn suggests the state work toward balancing its budget by delaying levy equalization payments to school districts and paying state employees twice a month instead of every other week. He says both of those ideas will save millions without cutting programs or firing teachers.
Gov. Chris Gregoire told the gathering earlier in the day that it won’t be possible to avoid cutting education.
