It was a packed house at the Aberdeen Rotary Log Pavilion Friday night as teachers, para professionals, school board members and administrators got together for a town hall meeting to tell legislators how they felt about education in Washington state.
Rep. Brian Blake, (D-Aberdeen) and Sen. Brian Hatfield (D-Raymond), and Democratic Sen. Jim Hargrove’s assistant, Shawn O’Neill, were present at the “Spring into Quality Education” event to field questions about anything education-related, including the new Smarter Balanced Assessments, teacher compensation and the State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision.
Educators who attended were grateful for the legislators present, but didn’t mince any words when they spoke to Hatfield and Blake.
Cori Krick, an Aberdeen High School English teacher, voiced her support for House Bill 1542, which would provide retirement benefits for teachers earlier — allowing them to retire at 55.
Krick also alluded to Senate Bill 5478, which passed the Senate last week and would require that state test results be used to evaluate teacher and principal performance.
“We are feeling as thought we’re not valued by our elected officials. I’m earning less money, I’m paying more money for health care and I’m worried my students’ test scores will become who they are and they will be used against me instead of what they should be used for, a measure of their individual progress,” she said.
Hoquiam High School junior Kennedy Gwin blasted the new Smarter Balanced Assessments, saying they don’t interest students in learning, but have the opposite effect. Gwin said she has taken 32 standardized tests during her time as a student in the Hoquiam School District.
“I have taken 32 standardized tests and I was told almost every time this is the last time we’ll change the test on you. (The tests) create a general atmosphere of boredom and hate. You are chasing kids away from the future job market,” she said.
Stevens Elementary School Principal Kathleen Werner expressed anger about the evaluation bill, much like Krick. She said she knew of a successful engineer at Boeing who took a 5th grade Smarter Balanced Assessment and couldn’t figure out the format.
“We want to be accountable but with assessments that help us improve what we do. Teachers get pummeled because they (students) didn’t do well on a test …” she said.
Both Blake and Hatfield agreed with those opposed to the testing.
“I strongly support revising the testing that we do and removing it as a high-stakes standard for graduation,” Blake said.
Heidi Hague, a para professional educator at Lincoln Elementary School, couldn’t hold back tears as she spoke of how she struggles to get by on $14,000 a year with three children, two of which, she says, have significant learning challenges.
The salary has made Hague wonder if she wants to become a full-time teacher. She said she has asked other teachers whether they think receiving the education to do so is worth it, given the cost.
“I ask them, is it worth it any more? If you could make the decision over again would you honestly become a teacher again? When the teachers I work with every day have to pause and think about it and say, ‘I’m not sure,’ that doesn’t make me want to spend $20, $30, $40,000 a year to become a teacher. I truly struggle with making the choice,” she said.
Blake and Hatfield both agreed that the need to fund K-12 education as mandated by the state Supreme Court’s decision in 2012 is imperative.
“You need to rally against 5478 in the House and work on getting McCleary funded,” Hatfield said. “It’s not just the Legislature where the battle is. A lot of us have heard you, we empathize and sympathize with you and we’ll continue to do the best we can.”
However, solidarity on some issues between legislators and those in attendance wasn’t the whole story.
Tina Niels, a teacher in Montesano, asked Blake and Hatfield why teachers are not getting raises when the Washington Citizen’s Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials has proposed an 11.2 percent raise to lawmakers’ annual wages. The proposed increase would raise legislative salaries from $42,106 to roughly $47,000 per year.
“I don’t have any problem talking about my salary. I have a bachelor’s degree and 25 years of experience. I don’t think that’s out of line,” responded Hatfield.
Before Hatfield spoke on any of the issues on Friday night, he explained that they were “told” to come to the event, not asked, after it was publicized that the two were coming.
However, McDermoth second-grade teacher Cathleen Peterson made clear she had sent emails to Hargrove, Hatfield, Blake and Reps. Dean Takko, Steve Tharinger Kevin Van De Wege, in February. Tharinger and Van De Wege both said they couldn’t attend in advance.
Another question at the meeting looked at how to better fund education in economically depressed areas so that children have a fair shot at school no matter where they live. Hatfield said there are currently proposals in the Legislature to take money from property wealthy districts that could be shared with the state and eventually lower-income districts.
He added that another idea is a current proposal from Gov. Jay Inslee to raise the capital gains tax, but he wasn’t confident in it passing, as similar attempts in the past have failed.
“There have been many attempts to get us there and the people have said no,” he said.
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