Gregoire Lies About Education Funding (Again)

Governor Gregoire told candidates for governor that "we cannot live up to our responsibilities [in education] without new revenue."

This is based largely on the idea that our state's constitution says, "It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders." So they think to uphold that responsibility, we need a billion more dollars.

The problem is that it is not just a duty of the state, but the paramount duty of the state. So if you need a billion dollars for education to uphold that responsibility, and you are spending a billion dollars on other things, then you take the money from those other things. That's what our constitution says.

It's always a lie for our state politicians to say we need more money for education. They are simply using education as a way to fund other projects, because they know the public is going to be in favor of education more than any other project. So if they lie and say education needs money, they are more likely to get that money.

Don't fall for it. Demand that education is funded first, as our constitution requires. If they want more revenue for other things, let them ask for it, honestly.