Baumgartner cutting education

I would like to thank Sen. Michael Baumgartner for standing up against Senate Democrats and voting for $78 million in cuts to our education system ($40 million K-12, $38 million higher education), while simultaneously introducing a constitutional amendment requiring higher education to be the second most important priority in our state (SJR 8225).

Without Baumgartner’s courage to say one thing but do the opposite, Washington’s businesses would not have to rely on other countries’ graduates to fill the void in their offices.

Baumgartner is the kind of politician that we need representing Spokane. Baumgartner, who in his own words from the Senate floor on March 3, “wants to tip (his) hat to the majority party. You know you got beat tonight. You got beat by the rules, but you put up a good fight, and that’s just the way this process works,” gloats about cutting into our state’s educational resources.

So, thank you, Michael Baumgartner, for being the creative politician and cutting more of our education dollars over what appears to be a simple game to you. Without leaders like Baumgartner, Spokane families could not have counted on five straight years of cuts to our education.

Kris Byrum

Spokane