Studying at Seattle University, Katey Enslein would love to become a teacher someday. But the unending confusion over state education funding has given the sophomore second thoughts about pursuing the career in her home state, second thoughts that she brought directly to state representatives at a unique meeting with constituents Dec. 17 at Kirkland City Hall.

Meeting with more than a dozen citizens, 48th District legislators Sen. Rodney Tom, Rep. Ross Hunter and Rep. Deb Eddy listened to their concerns and told them what they planned to do about it.

Before the meeting to air their concerns got going, Hunter warned the gathering to temper expectations with a projected $5-$6 billion projected state budget deficit.

“This is at least as bad as the budgets in the early 80s,” Tom said.

“People will cry,” Hunter said.

DEEP CUTS

As predicted by the legislators, Gov. Christine Gregoire has proposed deep cuts of $3.5 billion in the state budget. While the proposed cuts are harsh, they are still a proposed framework left to the state legislature to shape into a final budget, subject to the governor’s approval. Both Tom, vice-chair of the Senate Ways and Means committee and Hunter, House chair of the Finance committee, will be deeply involved in drafting a final budget. But their mission Wednesday evening was to listen to the voters, and for two hours, they did.

“The reason there are 98 representatives,” said Hunter, “(is to) lubricate state government for all of our consituents … We solve problems for people.”

Asking the legislators about revised standards for education, Enslein wanted to know more about how the state’s program of using National Board Certification affects compensation.

“Even though the U.S. spend more than any other country on education, other societies are founded on making your family proud and being educated,” she said. “Our society doesn’t celebrate education like others do.”

Enslein’s mother, Chris, a former Lake Washington School District PTA committee member, worried about teacher staffing levels in the school district if funding was cut.

“If you don’t stay flat, Lake Washington (School District) is going to lose 100 teachers,” Chris said.

A woman seated directly across from the legislators asked about the lack of transparency relating to condo homeowner associations (HOAs), claiming she’s been shut out of the HOA board. Seated behind her, another constituent panned Olympia’s consideration of stadium funding for the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium.

Along with the Ensleins, several questions were focused on education funding and worries about possible cuts in teachers, special education and student class sizes.

Hunter and Tom are both members of the Basic Education Funding Task Force, a joint bi-partisan committee dedicated to reorganizing the state funding system.

“Holding on to our current level of funding will be a victory,” Hunter said.

Change will come, he added, through new compensation-funding formulas, tracking student progress, accounting for dollars spent and automating increases budgeted for education.

“As a society, it’s one of those issues we can’t fail,” said Tom, who criticized formulas on class-size reduction, explaining that no one can find a classroom with 19 students in it.

“We can not have high school drop-outs in the world today,” Tom said. “There are more high school drop-outs in prison than working.”

The legislators also warned that Initiative 728 education funding would likely be cut. A fund created by a voter initiative in 2000, the money is targeted to pay for special education programs and reduce class sizes.

520 BRIDGE

Eddy, whose focus is on trasportation issues in the House, fielded a few questions about plans to rebuild the State Route 520 bridge and introduce tolling to pay for some of the cost.

She placed some of the blame for using tolling as a funding solution squarely on the back of the former senator who represented the district previously, state Republican Chairman Luke Esser.

“Because we had a Senator in this district who would not support the gas tax, 520 bridge funding was taken out of the package. He’s no longer representing this district,” Eddy said. “We’re now back to the problem of how to fund that bridge.”

The project is not “shovel-ready” due to delays on a decision to choose a final design for the Seattle portion of the bridge.

“We’re not going to get any Obama money for this?” asked Chris Enslein.

“We weren’t going to get much Obama money for this bridge, anyways,” Hunter said.

The cost of the 520 Bridge is estimated to be approximately $680 million for the Eastside and floating bridge portion, and anywhere from $2 to $4.5 billion for the more complex Seattle portion.

The 48th District legislators have planned another town hall meeting with voters Jan. 9 at Redmond City Hall.