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Republicans poised to defy governor, state Supreme Court on education spending

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Republican leaders sounded defiant today after Gov. Jay Inslee, in his State of the State speech, called on lawmakers to speed up improvements to education.

Improvements are coming to teacher pay but not fast enough.

“The Supreme Court has made it clear that the plan needs to start one year earlier and, fortunately, we have the reserves to do that,” said Inslee before a joint session of the Legislature.

But Republican leaders are ready to defy the court rather than pay the $1 billion expense.

“My personal opinion is: We ignore the court and thank them for their input," said Rep.David Taylor, of Moxee.

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“If we're going to make an additional investment in K-12, what is the smartest investment? Is it a onetime payment for salaries, or it is other things?” asked state Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler.

Republicans calculate that it is much cheaper to continue paying the $100,000-a-day fine imposed by the court.

But when it comes to schoolchildren the governor believes he's right.

“It is crucial that we implement the McCleary plan now because a child is only a third-grader once and they don't get that year back.”