"I work for Mt. Baker School District and the $1.3 billion cut in education will significantly hurt students’ learning.

To reduce cuts, some legislatures will try for a sales tax initiative that financially impacts everyone. Middle- and lower-income families are already struggling. Such an initiative would get voted down and set back education support.

Polls show most people support Obama’s plan to reinstate an upper-income tax to pay for important national services. A crisis is a terrible opportunity to waste.

I strongly urge the WEA to "Take the Lead" on this solution to save education." -- Christopher Wermus, Mt. Baker EA

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Despite the commitment of caring citizens across the state, education funding has been on the decline for two decades -- and it's left our schools behind in the areas that hurt students most. Washington's numbers are simply shocking:

• 46th in the nation in class size
• 45th in the nation in spending per student
• $2 billion less for schools this year because of the decline in state funding
• A 45 percent increase in tuition & fees just in the past five years for students striving to obtain a college degree
• $548 less spent per student in public schools than in 1992
• Since 1995, our state's contribution to public higher education costs has fallen by more than 16 percent
• Dead last in compensation for public school teachers among the five West Coast states, while college faculty salaries continue to lose ground to inflation.
• In recent years, the share of family income needed to pay college expenses, even after financial aid, has increased from 20 to 31 percent at four-year public colleges.

Now, imagine if we could put these bad numbers behind us.