Proponents of a new nursing school at the Riverpoint campus near downtown Spokane have two powerful allies on their side: the governor and the state Senate. That’s good news for a project that has local, state and national appeal.

Gov. Christine Gregoire has said she would sign off on such an appropriation, and, on Monday, the state Senate took the first step in making that a reality by proposing $31.6 million for the school.

Monday’s development was an interesting political twist, because WSU had placed the nursing school at the bottom of its list. Skeptics wondered whether the university’s leaders were “gaming” the budget process, hoping that Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown would find the money for the school and the other projects listed ahead of it.

Gregoire wasn’t pleased with WSU’s list of priorities, but she took the university at its word and used the same priorities in her budget request, which left the nursing school unfunded. However, she did say she wouldn’t mind if the Legislature found a way to move the nursing school up.

The state Senate did just that and withheld funding for WSU’s top priority, which is a $57 million biosciences building in Pullman.

That turn of events is good news for Spokane, which is relying on the nursing school to continue the momentum triggered by last year’s funding of a health sciences building. The Riverpoint campus is vital to the long-term economic development plans centered on the University District.

Political maneuvering aside, the nursing school stands on its own merits, because it fills so many needs.

The nursing school is a perfect fit for Spokane County, which is the health-care magnet for the entire Inland Northwest. One in five jobs in the county is tied to health care. A thriving campus near two major hospitals and numerous other health-care facilities is a perfect fit.

The nation would benefit because it is in the throes of a serious nursing shortage that will only get worse as baby boomers get older. If changes aren’t made soon, the nation will be short at least 400,000 nurses by 2010, according to a recent analyis. Washington state would face a shortage of 8,800 nurses. At the same time, the state’s largest nursing school – Spokane’s Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing – has to reject two-thirds of qualified applicants.

Support for a new nursing school still faces the twists and turns that come with every budget fight in Olympia. WSU officials will fight hard for funding for the biosciences building.

We hope the nursing school can survive, because it merits support on multiple levels.