Call Today to get Senate Levy Cliff Bill a Hearing

From the Washington's Paramount Duty Facebook page via Deirdre Gregg:

As an earlier post noted, 1059 has been referred to Senate Ways & Means. If you want it to get a hearing there, the person to call is Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, chair of the Senate Ways & Means committee, at (360) 786-7638.

His very nice legislative aide asked for my district and said she is keeping track of these calls. (Double super bonus points if you can track down a friend or relative from the 20th district (Centralia, most of Lewis and Cowlitz counties, some of Thurston and Clark counties) and get them to make a call too.)

You could say something like, "I'm a public school parent and I wanted to express my support for HB 1059, which was just referred to the Ways & Means committee today. I hope the committee will hold a hearing on the bill soon and that Sen. Braun will vote in favor when it does."

Some of the senators on the Ways & Means committee co-sponsored the companion bill, some did not, so I thought those two groups should get a different email.

First, here are the emails of those who did not.

Your email could say something like, "I'm a voter and a public-school parent and I wanted to express my support for HB 1059, the levy extension bill, which was referred to the Ways & Means committee today. I hope that the committee will act quickly to give schools certainty and avoid teacher layoffs. We want our educators focused on teaching, not budgeting! Please support this bill."

John.Braun@leg.wa.gov, Sharon.Brown@leg.wa.gov, Dino.Rossi@leg.wa.gov, Jim.Honeyford@leg.wa.gov, Kevin.Ranker@leg.wa.gov, Barbara.Bailey@leg.wa.gov, Randi.Becker@leg.wa.gov, Joe.Fain@leg.wa.gov, Mark.Miloscia@leg.wa.gov, Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov, Ann.Rivers@leg.wa.gov, Mark.Schoesler@leg.wa.gov, Judy.Warnick@leg.wa.gov, Hans.Zeiger@leg.wa.gov

Comments

Anonymous said…
What's the point, really? Braun is beholden to the Senate chair and will take orders from him. Seems clear order is not to play + use this as bargain chip. Pressure from Seattle could make it worse when they see how much we need this.

Even not jumping the cliff we have cuts next year because downtown bit off more than it can chew.

North of 85th
Anonymous said…
@north of 85th--pressuring their constituents about the levy cliff seems futile since SPS appears to be one of a few, if not the only, district in so deep that they have to lay off teachers and staff. It's a hard District to advocate for considering how poorly managed they are. I keep going back to "but the kids!!! But th teachers!!'" And think this is falling on deaf ears.

Fingers crossed I'm wrong, but I have a feeling we will be going off the cliff and a new budget will come out in May that isn't good for Seattle. Talk about a double whammy.

Brace yourselves
One, it's never too late to try. Ever.

Two, SPS is NOT the only district. There are many that will be affected but SPS being the largest, they will take the biggest hit.

Three, yes, SPS frequently shoots itself in the foot. Still waiting for a Board who will rein that in.
Watching said…
Seattle isn't the only district threatening to lay off teachers, Brace yourselves. It is important to deliver accurate information to readers.

The Senate Ways and Means committee heard the levy cliff bill. I recommend we continue to pressure the legislature. The legislature has shown a complete disregard for districts and their budgeting process.
stuart jenner said…
8 45 am Thurs morning - just called Sen Braun's office, no promise of a hearing date in committee.
alex said…
@Anonymous: How could it possibly hurt to call? If you feel strongly about something, do something about it! If you're defeated enough to write a post, pick up the phone and call. Apathy will get us no where!

I just called, and told his LA that I don't want my son's second year teacher to be a pawn in this funding battle. If we want teachers to stay in the field, they should not be getting pink slips. Will it change the course of history? i doubt it, but if I stop fighting now (here & at the federal level) I am done.

Plus, the Senate is now a tie. Our prospects are a lot better now than they were last week.

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