Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gregoire promises to protect teacher pay from lopsided cuts

Donna Gordon Blankinship Associated Press

TACOMA – Unless three standing ovations are considered just polite these days, Washington’s teachers still seem to love their governor.

Gov. Chris Gregoire got a warm welcome in Tacoma on Friday at a statewide meeting of the Washington Education Association. She thanked teachers for their work and promised she would fight to make sure their salaries are not cut more than any other public employee.

The governor told a room filled with more than 1,000 teachers and other members of the state’s largest teachers union that she has been getting some education of her own in Olympia these days, as lawmakers struggle to fill a $5.1 billion shortfall in the state budget.

She said she had to explain to lawmakers that teachers have already taken a salary cut when the Legislature decided not to pay them for training days. The governor also promised teachers she would veto a proposal to force school districts to lay off teachers according to their performance evaluations instead of seniority.

“Things are not going to change on their own,” Gregoire said. “We have got to let the public know the value of education. We have got to let them know we need money to make it happen.”

WEA President Mary Lindquist made sure the governor heard how much teachers value her.

“While we may not always agree with her on every issue, Gov. Gregoire has and continues to value our work and to respect our professional voice. This is not what other states can say,” Lindquist said.