Kagi says class-size initiative puts Legislature in a bind

By Evan Smith

State Rep. Ruth Kagi said Nov. 29 that the passage of an initiative to reduce class sizes in public schools will complicate the legislature’s job to comply with a court order to provide full state support for basic public education.

Voters in the November election passed Initiative 1351, which would require the Legislature to pay for reductions in class sizes in all public schools.

The State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision two years ago ordered the legislature to pay for full support for basic education.

Kagi, who represents Shoreline and the rest of the 32nd Legislative District, is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, the Appropriations Subcommittee on health and human services and the Environment Committee, in addition to being chairwoman of the committee on early learning and human services.

She said that the ballot measure would make complying with the court decision more difficult.

“We had a briefing in Appropriations that estimated the cost of compliance with 1351 to be $1.9 million per year in the next biennium plus the local costs that the state must now pick up because of McCleary,” Kagi said. 

“It comes out to over $5 billion in the next budget on top of the $1.6-2 billion for McCleary. There is no way the legislature can cut existing programs and raise enough taxes to address that level of funding.”

Kagi said that she expects the legislature to work through what she called an impossible position.

However, she added, “I expect it will take longer than the 105-day session to do it.”

Kagi and other House majority Democrats will need to compromise on a budget with Senate majority Republicans, who have promised to pass a budget by first paying for public education.

Kagi said last weak that such a budget could lead to bigger cuts in other state programs.

“If the Senate passes an ‘education-first’ budget, it will of necessity make deep cuts into the social services, higher education and other parts of the budget that have already been severely reduced as a result of the draconian cuts we made during the recession."

Kagi added that she didn’t expect the legislature to muster the two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate needed to suspend the initiative.

State voters passed I-1351 by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin.

The 32nd District includes Shoreline and part of northwest Seattle, Lynnwood, Woodway and nearby unincorporated areas of southwest Snohomish County, parts of Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace. Democrat Kagi won a ninth two-year term representing the district with a 71 percent to 28 percent victory in the Nov. 4 election over Republican Alvin Rutledge.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.