News and perspective on public policy issues affecting Washington's economy and quality of life, brought to you by the Economic Opportunity Institute.
OLYMPIA, Wash. – April is Community and Technical College Month, but two-year colleges in Washington have been too busy to commemorate it. The system serves 60 percent of all public college students in the state, with 470,000 people enrolled. The supplemental state budget signed this week by Gov. Chris Gregoire includes $39 million to build […]
A good education is the key to a shot at the American Dream. So it’s puzzling to see the Seattle School Board pulling the rug out from under hundreds of school-kids by raising tuition for full-day kindergarten by 15% (to $2,720 per year) – on the heels of an even-steeper 31% increase last year. Even […]
You’ve probably seen that bumper sticker that says, “The Labor Movement: The Folks Who Brought You the Weekend.” While the sentiment rings true – and not just about the weekend, let’s be clear - it also evokes a kind of “what have you done for me lately?” feeling. It turns out the answer is: quite […]
From Miller-McCune: Few things ignite a community quite like this question: if you don’t have children in the local public schools, should you have to help pay for those schools? Tax exemptions for specific demographic groups like senior citizens, for example, are often rationalized as lightening the burden on residents who don’t benefit from public schools. […]
