Senator Kevin Ranker sent this to my email.

Hi everyone! Okay so heres what the Senator Kevin Ranker sent me regarding the 4 day school week.


40th Legislative District April 10, 2009
There are only two-and-a-half weeks left in this legislative session and budgets will dominate discussions as the House and Senate try to reach agreements on the final operating, transportation and capital budgets.
I look forward to lively but civil debate as we make some very difficult decisions. As always, I welcome your ideas and comments.
The Budget Proposals
Last week we introduced a two-year, balanced budget proposal that closes the state’s historic shortfall with serious cuts to valued programs and services. With tax collections continuing to fall, the Senate plan would eliminate thousands of jobs for teachers, higher education workers and other state employees as well as 10,500 students cut from our state colleges and universities.
The plan relies on $3 billion in one-time federal stimulus money and cuts to programs, health care and planned wage increases for teachers and state employees and leaves $850 million in reserves.
The budget the Senate proposed is a product of our ailing economy and every part of government faces cuts. Over 40% of our budget is spent on our state’s public school system. Unfortunately, the education of our children – the paramount duty of our state – faces dangerous cuts.

The biggest cuts our education system faces are the suspension of two voter approved initiatives that fund cost of living pay raises for school employees and reduce classroom sizes. While I am reluctant to support a freeze on teachers’ salaries or severely cut I-728 I understand the reality of fairly distributing the burden of the budget crisis. But we can’t forget about the needs of our future.

Voters supported I-728 to reduce classroom size in 2000 by a 72 percent margin for good reason and I am working to reinstate additional funding for smaller class sizes into the final budget. I am convinced that too many students get lost in overcrowded classrooms. Balancing our budget at such a cost to our students will only cost our state more in the long-run.

We need to realize this is a moment in our state’s history unlike any other and now is not the time to think of decimating education. Instead we must work together to plan for fully funding education and work on the investments that are needed to keep our schools competitive for generations to come.

The budget cuts that have been proposed represent some of the most difficult choices I’ve ever seen throughout my career in the public and private sectors. We’re tasked with finding that delicate balance between the values that people like you and I hold dear and the cold harsh budget realities facing our state.

These challenges that lie before us are daunting but I sincerely believe that in a time of crisis like this, if we work hard and look toward the future generations of our state, we can position ourselves for great things in the years to come.

Infrastructure investments

Along with the operating budget, we have scaled back the state’s long term investments in the capital budget and our transportation investments. The construction projects that are funded in these two budgets will create local jobs and provide valuable infrastructure that will benefit our community for years to come.
The capital budget covers all our K-12 construction commitments and our most critical higher education projects. It also provides $115 million in bonds and $107 million in federal stimulus money in the form of grants to local government infrastructure projects.

Locally, the proposed budget has over $90 million in investments heading to our communities which will shore up our infrastructure and stimulate our local economies. Some of these projects include:

· Over $85 million of investment at Western Washington University, including more than $50 million for renovating the aging Miller Hall
· Nearly $3.8 million to Skagit Valley College for maintenance and preservation, and its Academic and Student Services Building
· $265,000 to help with the Padilla Bay Reserve
· Nearly $1 million to replace sewer lift stations at Moran State Park
· Over $460,000 for investments at Department of Natural Resources Natural Areas facilities near Anacortes and on San Juan Island
· An additional $1.5 million was added to a previous $4 million investment for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for preservation projects on Blanchard Mountain in Skagit County.

While we’ve had to make painful cuts to balance our 2009 operating budget, the capital budget investments will be paid with bonds over 30 years. We’re investing for the future and helping local economies today and looking toward a time when the economy is healthy again.
Transportation
I’m pleased to report that the Senate has passed our version of the 2009 transportation budget, which will invest over $4 billion across the state and over $90 million locally in our district. Funded primarily with our state’s gas taxes, these funds are constitutionally dedicated to building, maintaining and operating our state highway system — including the marine highways serviced by Washington State Ferries.
The many projects that will improve transportation throughout the district include ramp reconstruction and stormwater drainage improvements to I-5, widening SR-20, a new Chuckanut Park & Ride and ferry terminal improvement and preservation work on Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, Anacortes and Friday Harbor. We’ll also keep the Anacortes – Sidney ferry run operating, limit increases in fares to no more than 2.5 percent and speed up construction of new ferries by 10 years.
These are important projects that will improve transportation and also provide valuable jobs at exactly the time our economy needs them.
I am hopeful that budget negotiations with the House with result in a final budget that maintains these valuable projects.
As always, I welcome your thoughts on the issues we are considering in Olympia. You may email me at ranker.kevin@leg.wa.gov, phone the toll-free hotline number to leave a message at 1-800-562-6000, or call my office in Olympia at 360-786-7678.
For the latest up to date news on what I’m working on while the Legislature is in session, please visit my web page at http://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/senators/ranker/
Take care.