Gov. Gregoire addresses the Public School Employees of Washington Conference

August 1, 2008

AS WRITTEN

Good morning, and thank you, George, (Dockins, PSE president) for the kind introduction.

Thanks also to you, Randy (Dorn), and everyone else for inviting me here today.

As you can imagine, this is a very busy time for me, but I looked forward to taking the time to speak to the men and women who keep our public schools running so our kids can learn and our teachers can teach.

By a busy time for me, I don�t just mean running the state of Washington.

Here it is August 1st -- and the clock is ticking louder. The big day is looming larger and larger, and drawing closer and closer. Will it go well?

In fact, late at night, I secretly ask myself, will it be a disaster?

I do hope you don�t think I�m talking about what happens in November!

No -- Actually I�m thinking about my oldest daughter Courtney�s wedding, which is just nine days away.

I know some of you have already been through our modern wedding-industrial complex to see your sons and daughters to the altar.

There is simply no end to the planning, and of course, the spending. Wow, what a trip! And as you probably know, it simply has to be perfect!

One very neat thing about it � it will be the first wedding ever in the Governor�s mansion.

I�ve been so busy lately that some people worry that I won�t be able to keep all my commitments. I found that out the other day in a most unusual way.

I want to start this afternoon by telling you that I go way, way back with folks just like you.

In Algona Grade School, one of my favorite people was the cook at our school (name if you recall). She was really nice to me, and took a real interest in me.

In fact, I was a volunteer dish washer back in those days so I got to know her as a real friend.

Then there was my bus driver at Cascade Middle School and Auburn High.

He knew me so well that he knew I always hurried to get a seat at the back of the bus so I could feel my stomach drop when we went over seven big dips in the road.

These two folks were an important part of my school life, and they were public school employees of Washington. After all these years, I still remember them like it was yesterday.

Schools have become a little more sophisticated since then � but one thing will never change.

We still open our schools each morning because we have a whole lot of people just like you to feed our kids nutritious meals, and make sure our schools are safe. and that the lights, heat and other utilities are in good working order.

We can�t have good schools if we don�t provide para-educators to help our kids learn, or if we don�t have bus drivers to get those kids to school in the first place.

And we can�t have good schools if we don�t have the secretaries and technology experts making sure records are kept, notices are sent out, and all the many other tasks they do every day.

I appreciate and respect you � the men and women who keep our schools running and safe every single day of the school year.

The fact is, a school is a family, and to our kids, it�s their home away from home.

And I want to thank you for standing by me from the very start of my first term in office, and for being a great partner to strengthen our schools.

Working together we have changed the direction of education in Washington State and we�re on the road to a world-class, learner-focused education system that will prepare our kids to get good jobs in a world economy.

As I�m sure you know, when I took office, voter-approved initiatives to cut class sizes and increase teacher pay had been put on the shelf to gather dust.

With your support, I took them off the shelf, and we�re investing in smaller classes and paying more to keep and attract our great teachers and our great school employees.

Working together, we have managed to increase the salaries of classified workers by more than 8 percent since I took office in 2005.

And the total increase will go to more than 12 percent in September when your most recent cost-of-living raise is fully funded at 3.9 percent � along with a half percentage point "catch-up" amount.

Salary increases for school employees since I took office represent the largest state-funded pay raise in as far back as anybody can remember.

In addition, let me mention our historic investment to bring school districts with the lowest salaries closer to those with the highest. This helps school employees in districts with less money.

Working together, we have now improved the staffing ratio to 58.75 students per one classified employee. And I think we can all agree that persuading the Legislature to improve the staffing ratio for the last two years in a row is a major victory.

In fact, over the last two years, we have invested more than $28 million in better classified staffing. I know we all want an even better staffing ratio, and we�re doing everything we can.

We also improved health insurance and retirement benefits.

And of great importance to all of you, we have invested significantly to improve security at our public schools. Just last year, we received the Noblis Innovations Award in Homeland Security for creating the first statewide system to manage crises and map schools.

Kids can�t learn if they don�t feel safe, and school employees have an absolute right to a safe workplace.

I�m very pleased that the Public School Employees provide scholarships to some of their members to pursue higher education opportunities.

I believe it�s important too, and that�s why we included $100,000 to help instructional assistants attend the five-day Summer Institute in Tacoma this week. And I�m pleased that some at the training at the institute is designed specifically for para-educators.

I also want to thank all of you for strongly supporting the successful amendment to the State Constitution to allow school maintenance and operation levies to pass with a simple majority.

It�s about time we brought to our education system the same rules of fairness we apply to everything else we put to a public vote.

One of the things I think some people forget is that classified school employees have a stake in and really care about creating a world-class education system for our kids.

Indeed, wouldn�t it be great if we could build schools and instead of prisons?

Every one of our kids deserves a chance at a good, rewarding life.

And I believe � in fact I know � that it absolutely starts with a good education.

Before I close, I want to address something that we hear too often � and it�s that labor unions are just one more special interest.

Yes, you care about wages and benefits -- but you know what? You also fight for so much more that matters to all Washington families.

You care about the right to collectively bargain for your members so you can get a fair shake and a fair share of your labor. So do I, and that�s why I support collective bargaining � in both the private and public sectors.

You care about building an education system that serves our kids from early childhood through adulthood. So do I, and with your support, we�re building a world-class, learner-focused education system.

You care about creating a health care system where little kids can see a doctor before they wind up in an emergency room, and senior citizens don�t have to choose between dinner and medication.

I care too, and with your backing, we�re going to cover every kid in Washington by 2010, and we�re going to make health care more affordable for everybody.

You care about an economy where businesses and innovators can prosper so we can sustain the Washington Way � which is to create good jobs that support families now and in the future.

So do I, and with your support, we�ve been able to diversify our economy to the extent that even now, with the national economy struggling, we�re managing fairly well.

That�s why Forbes and Fortune magazines call our state one of the five best states for business, and that�s why as of this June, our economy has created 226,000 new jobs since 2005.

You care about leaving our children and grandchildren an environment where our incredible natural wonders stay that way and our kids can depend on green-collar jobs to build a better world that relies on ingenuity � not fossil fuels.

So do I, and with your support, we have created the framework to get us there.

And you want a state government that works. So do I, and that�s why the Pew Center on the States says we are among the top three best-managed states in the country.

In short � you and I share values that go way beyond a �special interest� � unless that special interest happens to be the entire population of Washington State.

We value healthy, happy families who are able to provide for themselves to make our neighborhoods and communities stronger.

We believe that everybody should be at the family table � grandma and grandpa, all the kids, the down-on-her luck sister, the difficult brother-in-law, and the neighbor next door.

I want you to know I�ll keep standing with you to make sure there are always seats at our table for everybody.

Thank you