KCTS Connects Special: The Learning Curve

Initiative 884

Thursday, October 21, at 7:00 p.m.

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On November 2, in addition to selecting preferred candidates for office, voters will also have the opportunity to vote on Initiative I-884, the Education Trust Initiative. According to the Education Trust Fund, funds generated by the plan will "deliver 16,000 new high-quality preschool spaces, reduce class sizes and improve student achievement, raise the base pay for teachers and school employees, provide additional classes in high school and support parent involvement, expand scholarships and financial aid to keep college affordable for working and middle class students, fund 32,000 additional enrollment slots in college in community and technical colleges and four-year universities, and invest in university-based research that generates new businesses and jobs." The plan will also raise Washington's retail sales tax from 6.5 to 7.5%.

Opposition groups, including the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, fear that, if approved, many regions of the state would have the highest sales tax in the nation. Parts of Snohomish County would have sales tax at 9.9%. Predictions of 10,000 lost jobs and increasing in housing costs due to increased construction expenses also mar the proposal. Many feel it will encourage internet commerce over local sales, and put an unfair burden on low to middle income families.

Endorsers of the plan include Gary Locke, Judith Billings, and Helen Sommers, as well as the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Joining Enrique to discuss I-884 is Lisa Macfarlane, co-founder of the League of Education Voters which is sponsoring the measure. Also with us is Former House Speaker Clyde Ballard who agrees that the state's education system needs a remedial, particularly in higher education, but he is afraid the initiative's dramatic sales tax increase could harm more than it fixes. Other critics are also worried that the Legislature could spend the trust fund on something other than education.

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