In brief: New classrooms get panel’s OK

OLYMPIA – On a unanimous vote, a House committee approved a plan to build some 2,000 new classrooms at schools around the state by tapping lottery funds.

The House Capital Budget Committee voted 13-0 Thursday in favor of a proposal to sell $700 million in bonds to build classrooms for the kindergarten through third-grade classes that will be downsized as part of efforts to improve public schools. Smaller class sizes in those grades is one of the goals of a state Supreme Court order to meet constitutional requirements for education.

HB 2797 would take $50 million in state lottery proceeds each year to pay off the bonds. The lottery is a steady and dependable source of money to pay off bonds, committee Chairman Hans Dunshee said. Selling the bonds would allow the state to build the extra classrooms by the 2017-18 school year, when the classroom size reductions are scheduled to be in place, he said.

There would be no local match required from school districts, he said. The districts would apply to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to receive the money.

Hit-and-run suspect freed pending trial

A man accused of fleeing the scene of an injury accident in Spokane Valley in 2012 and then fleeing the state was released from the Spokane County Jail on his own recognizance Thursday pending trial.

David W. Keck, 34, has been charged with one count of vehicular assault and two counts of hit-and-run in an injury accident. The charges stem from a collision at Mission Avenue and Felts Road on May 4, 2012, when Keck is accused of speeding in his mother’s Ford Mustang and crashing into a Dodge Durango with a married couple inside.

Keck left the scene but was identified by his passenger, according to court documents. The passenger and the couple in the Durango were injured.

A warrant was issued for Keck’s arrest last year after he failed to cooperate with investigators, documents state. Keck’s attorney said he turned himself in Wednesday.

Speaking to insurance investigators, Keck claimed to be staying at the Red Lion Hotel in Lewiston the day of the crash. The receipts he turned over to the investigator were fake, court documents say.

Meals on Wheels seeks funds, food

Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels will kick off a month’s worth of fundraisers and food drives Saturday to raise awareness of senior nutrition.

Walks to support Meals on Wheels will take place from 8 to 10 a.m. at Spokane Valley Mall and 10 a.m. to noon at River Park Square downtown. Also Saturday, from noon to 7 p.m., Ron’s Drive-In in Spokane Valley will donate 20 percent of sales to Spokane’s Meals on Wheels.

For more information and a full list of events in the March for Meals campaign, visit www.mowaa.org/ marchformeals.

Homeless students on rise, officials say

OLYMPIA – State education officials say the number of homeless students has gone up for the sixth year in a row in Washington state.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reports more than 30,000 students were counted as homeless during the previous school year (2012-13). That’s an increase of about 3,000 students across the state from the previous year. The state is required to count and report the number of homeless children to the federal government each year. Washington state gets about $950,000 a year from the federal government to help homeless students.