While Not Perfect, Government Serves

Politicians take a lot of heat in this space. So it is only fair that they receive praise when they serve the public well.

This week, members of the Washington state Legislature are getting back to their normal lives. Reintroducing themselves to family members and business colleagues. Unpacking the belongings that they hauled to Olympia apartments and rental homes for the five-month struggle of a budget-writing year. Scraping session-ending spitballs off their clothes.

Sure, there’s always conflict, and unfinished business. Nevertheless, all of the legislators, and Gov. Gary Locke as well, ought to take a bow. And ought to hear the sound of public applause.

They made big, positive investments in the future of our state, and they did it in an extremely difficult political environment. A partisan tie in the House forced every committee to operate with two chairpersons, one from each party. This shoved both sides toward the center line, leaving fringe ideas dead by the side of the road. It also led to fierce personal tension. And yet, the ugliest battle wasn’t along party lines, it involved a power struggle between the Senate and House, over how the Legislature monitors transportation spending. Even that came to a reasonable conclusion.

Pressures from outside the Capitol building were intense, as well. Public school teachers demanded raises more than twice the size of those for other state employees. A rash of school violence stunned the nation, provoking urgent cries to make schools safer.

The legislature responded admirably. Indeed, the actions it took to improve education were among the session’s highlights.

Gov. Locke turned to recommendations of a school-safety summit he convened last year, and assembled a grant program that won the Legislature’s rapid approval. Recognizing that solutions to the safety issue will vary depending on each school’s characteristics, the governor left details in the hands of local educators and their security staff. They can add counselors. They can toughen security. They can do so in a variety of ways. Schools will apply for the kind of aid they feel they need, and it is to be hoped that those who dispense the grants will respect local judgment.

But that is only the beginning, of solutions to the safety issue, and also of the list of things this Legislature did for education.

Recognizing that veteran teachers are reasonably paid while starting salaries are too low to attract top talent to this profession, the Legislature weighted pay raises to the entry-level years. This will be helpful, since many teachers are approaching retirement.

Less noted, but not for long, was the Legislature’s decision to create the Washington’s Promise Scholarship program. A priority of Gov. Locke, this takes the first step toward changing public education from a K-12 system to a K-14 system. The top 10 percent of this year’s public high school graduates each may receive $3,000 for use in the college of their choice. That’s enough to pay for a community college degree. In years to come, the number of scholarships will increase. Locke’s eventual goal is to provide these scholarships to every successful graduate.

This represents a profound shift in educational expectations, consistent with the emerging, knowledge-based economy.

There is a lot more on the Legislature’s list of achievements: Huge, strategic investments in the state’s clogged transportation network. A $2 billion capital budget, weighted heavily to education facilities including a number in Eastern Washington. A plan to protect salmon while keeping private forest industries viable.

Government isn’t perfect. But it is a positive force, and our state will be stronger due to the decisions the Legislature made this year.