OLYMPIA, Wash. — For 17 days, the state teacher's union has kept a vigil at the Washington State Capitol. There's still no agreement on a budget that meets the state Supreme Court order to fully fund education.
Gov. Jay Inslee paid a quick visit to the event.
“We need legislators to really get down to negotiation,” he said.
The state Supreme Court is fining lawmakers $100,000 a day. A former state school superintendent, and the Seattle Times editorial board want the court to consider shutting down schools, if necessary to make the legislature act.
“It should not take any threats. It should take persistence and dedication to get this job done,” Inslee said.
Parent Cassandra Burnham said, “I do think they need to hold the legislators accountable for their actions because anybody else who did what they are doing, they'd be fired in a minute.”
Rep. Matt Manweller of Wenatchee is a constitutional scholar at Central Washington University.
The Washington State Supreme Court has the authority to declare laws either constitutional or unconstitutional. I don't think they have the authority to shut schools down.
The 30-day special session ends seven days before the deadline for a partial government shutdown.
Inslee said “There is no excuse for not getting this done (in) the next 30 days, so I'm not going to accept any possibility of that excuse of failure. It needs to get done right now.”
The prospect of a partial school shutdown grows more tangible tomorrow. That's when the state will post a new website detailing the contingency plans if a new budget isn't passed by June 30.
Associated Press