Cuts, taxes and federal aid—Gregoire

“Later today I will present a budget I can support. It counts on new revenue of about $750 million and cuts of almost $1 billion. The revenue will come from new federal dollars, new taxes or both,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said.

“We mujst have a responsible, balanced approach of painful cuts and new revenue.”

She also wants early learning for all three and four-year-olds in the state, all-day kindergarten.

“Lift the levy lid and fund levy equalization,” she said.

And come up with a new evaluation system for teachers, she added. For schools with high dropout rates, poor student performance and no progress, “we need to be able to step in and turn them around.”