Gov. Gregoire appoints members to state education funding task force

For Immediate Release: July 3, 2012

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire announced today the three appointed members who will serve on the newly created Joint Task Force on Education Funding. Appointees will be responsible for recommending sustainable funding options to support kindergarten through 12th grade education. The group�s final recommendations are due Dec. 31, 2012.

The joint task force called for in House Bill 2824 is charged with developing recommendations for funding basic education enhancements included in legislation previously enacted.

�The need for identifying reliable and realistic funding solutions for our schools is a top priority,� Gregoire said. �Our work must continue to meet the needs of our students who will enter an increasingly demanding and competitive marketplace.�

Under the legislation, the joint task force is charged with the following duties:

� Developing a proposal for a reliable and dependable funding mechanism to support basic education programs;
� Making recommendations on how the Legislature can meet the requirements of HB 2261 (2009) and HB 2776 (2010) under which the Legislature committed to state basic education funding enhancements;
� Identifying state budget reductions or eliminations to fund K-12 enhancements if the task force recommendation contains no new revenue; and
� Considering specific transitional bilingual program recommendations.

The task force will comprise a total of 11 members. Eight legislators serve on the committee as do three members appointed by the governor:

� Mary Lindquist, president of the Washington Education Association and former teacher.
� Susan Enfield, Highline School District superintendent and former interim superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.
� Jeff Vincent, Washington State Board of Education member and chief executive officer and president of Laird Norton Company LLC.

All members of the joint task force serve voluntarily with terms set to expire Dec. 31, 2012.


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