Thank a teacher!

With the incredible support I am getting from teachers, I would like to take a moment to express my deep gratitude to Washington State teachers and teachers right here in our district. Were it not for your commitment and sacrifices and those of your predecessors, I would not be the person that I am today. I stand as an example of what can be achieved through a public education. From Kindergarten through graduate school, I have turned to public institutions for enrichment, empowerment, and knowledge. Parks, Allen, Christenson, Stiles, Nowadnick, and Cruz (5th and 6th grade). These were my first six teachers; the rocks of my life who saw me as much more than a poor kid. They saw me as a learner and a leader, and then worked their craft to help me see it in myself. THANK YOU!

At every door I talk about education funding and the promise we must keep to our children and our grandchildren. As a former classroom teacher myself, I look to support teachers by giving them the opportunity to succeed. This opportunity is created in a number of ways: Higher salaries, lower class sizes, better resources in the classroom, access to technology, and the time to train, collaborate, and partner with fellow teachers outside of the classroom.

None of this is truly possible without a deep commitment to fully fund basic education in our state. Some hard working people have spent the last few years trying to define “basic education”. We will never get it totally right, but we have a foundation from which to build. Thank you to the parents, teachers, administrators, education advocates, labor leaders, House members, Senate members, committee staff, and caucus staff who have put in thousands of hours to get us here! Now, the even tougher part: finding the courage to raise revenue to fund basic education.

I know that a vibrant and viable education system starts with careful planning and risk-taking in Olympia. I also know that the future of our economy and America’s survivability will absolutely be a function of our how well we educate our populace. I am working hard to try to be a leader in the State House who will take that next courageous step – to dramatically alter our tax structure to ensure that we adequately fund education. In the process, we will bring about tax fairness, tax adequacy, and tax stability!

Please join me in thanking a teacher today and every day. As the bumper sticker says, “if you can read this, thank a teacher.”