Funding is key to education reform

The education panel Washington Learns proposes a bold approach to injecting every level of education with rigor and accountability.

The elephant in the room, however, is education funding. Sidestepping this massive beast threatens the very underpinning of reform efforts. Gov. Christine Gregoire promised a new way of looking at education and investing in it. The smart, holistic proposals from her committee give us the former. Now, where's the latter?

This is a critical question that won't wait. The piecemeal approach to education spending — funding a program here, a program there — hasn't served schools well and would crack under the weighty intentions of Washington Learns.

Here is what lies in the future for our schools and our children if we enact even a portion of the panel's ideas:

• State funding for all-day kindergarten, thus eliminating tuition-based classes and the piecemeal offerings that vary from school to school.

• Expanded professional development and a pay scale based on merit.

• More-rigorous high-school course requirements targeting the gaping weaknesses in math and science curricula.

• A 10-year plan for expected increases in enrollment at colleges and universities.

And those very things are what our schools and children won't receive if a long-term, stable source of funding isn't developed.

Promises are made to take unblinking looks at education, including funding. But a mere glance at the beast sends the best of education thinkers reeling backwards.

The state has $1.9 billion in reserves. The governor's budget is expected to include a significant down payment on the expected $1 billion cost of Washington Learn's proposed reforms.

Good. But even better would be a strong handle on the strengths and weaknesses of the funding system. State spending on education is $7 billion annually. A transparent view of this spending is essential, even while acknowledging that more will be required to get the job done.

Pressure is growing to address the funding issue. Lawsuits are being prepared challenging disparities in state money among districts and over the inadequacy of basic education funding.

The time to tackle the funding beast is now.