Gov. Jay Inslee spent more than an hour Wednesday at Stevenson Elementary School meeting with 30 local community leaders and educators to hear about the area’s successes and gaps still needing to be filled.
Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci said the city is no longer the “stereotype of white affluence” and there’s a real need for students in the school district that goes beyond preparing them to pass a biology test.
In large part those needs are being met by the other members of the listening station, including LifeSpring, Leadership Eastside, Boys and Girls Club and Youth Services that are working with school district officials is to ensure each student is getting what they need to succeed.
“Bellevue has got an incredible depth of people working to help our kids succeed,” the mayor said. “It’s a lot of passion and people knowing how much work this takes and being wiling to do it … I know my 9-year-old son wouldn’t be successful without the help of these groups here.”
The fundamental question of this year’s legislative sessions continues to focus on how the state will properly fund education and find the billions of dollars needed to satisfy the McCleary decision, Inslee said.
In his proposed budget, the governor suggested taxing the state’s largest polluters via a cap-and-trade deal and some of its wealthiest through a capital-gains tax. Both had raised the ire of state republicans who claim there are other methods to balancing the budget, but have yet to put forth any official budget proposals, he said.
Taking money out of housing, for instance, may appear like an easy solution, but the ramifications and the ripple effect of how it’ll affect the state’s students will just cause further education problems, the governor added.
“We can’t create more homeless, hungry children,” he said. “They can’t be in the back of ‘89 Buick and be expected to do their homework. These students need support to ensure they’re ready to learn.”
Despite the uphill battle he’s facing, Inslee said he’s confident a bipartisan budget will be passed and not at the expense of student services.
To help that cause, the governor asked the community leaders to reach out to legislators, tell their story of success and explain how the children are “a good investment.”
As the landscape of Bellevue continues to change it’s more important than ever having the school district and the social programs on the same page to continue that success, Balducci added.
