This article was published at The Washington Policy Center on Oct 6, 2026: https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/is-mccleary-really-to-blame-for-washingtons-budget-woes During a recent debate on repealing the state income tax, opponents of I-645 claimed that the state budget's rapid expansion is driven by the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. K–12 funding has grown rapidly since that decision, but since 2019, spending on everything else has expanded nearly three times as fast, accounting for nearly three-quarters of total state budget growth. The Supreme Court formally ended its oversight of the McCleary decision in June 2018. McCleary enforced the state’s … [Read more...]
Screen time
From the Facts They Don't Teach You The world spent years pushing screens into classrooms. Tablets replaced textbooks. Digital assignments replaced handwritten notes. Schools were told that the future of education was sitting behind a screen. Now some European countries are starting to reverse course. Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, Italy, and Denmark are all moving away from heavy classroom digitalization and bringing back something many schools thought was disappearing: printed books, handwriting, and traditional reading. And this shift is not happening because of nostalgia. It is happening because researchers have found that writing by hand and reading … [Read more...]
Fed up With Screens, Parents Are Demanding a Return To Pen and Paper in the Classroom
Not so very long ago, school districts and education leaders told us that technology in the classroom was essential to the success of our students. “An iPad on every desk” became the new “chicken in every pot” slogan, as experts tried to convince us that technology could be a panacea for the nation’s test scores. Well, they convinced us. And now some parents are working to extract their children from this technological bill of goods that we were sold. According to NBC News, parents like Julie Frumin and Emily Cherkin strongly believe that the heavy presence of technology in the classroom – particularly through Chromebooks and iPads – is harming their children, so much so that they took … [Read more...]
Teachers Unions and ‘ICE Out’ Day
This article comes to us from The American Thinker Across the country, teachers’ unions are increasingly urging educators to take public political positions -- even during the school day. This trend is deeply troubling for families who expect classrooms to remain politically neutral and focus on core school subjects such as reading, writing, and math. Encouraging political advocacy in the classroom undermines trust, erodes educational integrity and places students in the middle of ideological battles. A recent example from Minnesota shows how far this pressure can go. The Wayzata teachers’ union sent an email encouraging teachers to participate in “ICE Out Day,” a political protest … [Read more...]
Clark County resident Larry Roe shares his thoughts on the the upcoming school levies
From the ClarkCountyToday.com site We need to be having an active and urgent discussion of the goals of our public schools in light of the affordability of our neighborhoods for families with school-age children, the decreasing academic performance of our students, and the increased absenteeism in our schools. Our K-12 public schools have been taking on many roles in addition to the basic academic and athletic training for students that was envisioned in our State Constitution. We have added meals for students, preparation of young children for kindergarten, extended education for students with special needs for an additional four years, resource centers to support young families … [Read more...]
Fully funding K-12 education is a pipe dream
We hear all sorts of comments about the need to “fully fund” K-12 education. It’s a pipe dream and fantasy. Why? Read on… The state's funding formula for K-12 education is called the Prototypical School Funding Model. The Washington State Basic Education Act of 1977 originated the funding model and outlines the definition of Basic Education in public schools. This model determines the base amount of funding each district receives per student based on a fixed theoretical school size enrollment. The model establishes minimum staff-to-student ratios for various positions such as principals, teachers, custodians, nurses, and more. The funding received by school districts based on this model … [Read more...]
It’s official: Ditching the SATs was a big mistake
Food for thought.. Brought to us by the Washington Examiner written by Jon Miltimore republished at Zero Hedge The state of education in the US is at a crossroads. Money isn't the solution. Focus on basics with full parental engagement and a societal commitment to establish new expectations is the only solution. In early 2020, the University of California set the tone for the rest of the country when its regents voted to drop SAT and ACT admissions requirements through 2024. That decision, initially framed as a pandemic necessity, quickly reshaped admissions nationwide. By late 2022, roughly 1,750 schools, or about 80 percent of U.S. universities, had adopted test-optional … [Read more...]
Washougal SD District 5 Paul Hooper
A list of 12 questions was sent to each candidate with the offer to publish their responses unedited. Mr. Hooper chose not to participate. [He is running unopposed] Just in case you want to contact him and ask some questions his contact info is in the voters pamphlet reproduced below. If you learn anything please share with us. ______________________________________________________________ Q1: Given the poor student test scores, what are your proposals to improve learning and outcomes? Q2: Given that an estimated 50% of the entire state budget goes to K-12 education, what are your thoughts about improving efficiencies in local spending? Q3: What’s your position on Parental Rights? Q4: … [Read more...]
Ridgefield SD District 4 Donna Farnsworth
A list of 12 questions was sent to each candidate with the offer to publish their responses unedited. Ms. Farnsworth chose not to participate. [She is running unopposed and may assume her record speaks for itself?] Just in case you want to contact her and ask some questions her contact info is in the voters pamphlet reproduced below. If you learn anything please share with us. Editorial comment: This candidate provides virtually no information of any use. Nothing about what she has accomplished. No vision of the future. No information on stances on key issues. ______________________________________________________________ Q1: Given the poor student test scores, what are your proposals to … [Read more...]
La Center SD District 3 Samuel Glacker
A list of 12 questions was sent to each candidate with the offer to publish their responses unedited. Mr Glacker chose not to participate. [He is running unopposed and may assume his record speaks for itself?] Just in case you want to contact him and ask some questions his contact info is in the voters pamphlet reproduced below. If you learn anything please share with us. Note: He only provided a phone number. NO email nor website. This is a candidacy where it is an incumbent running unopposed. They provide no information that helps voters make an informed decision. ______________________________________________________________ Q1: Given the poor student test scores, what are your … [Read more...]
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