Both budgets cuts the state’s share of K-12 public education funding, but according to Dorn, the Senate version cuts entirely too much, at $650 million for the 2010-11 school year.

Dorn said the Senate’s budget has the potential to cut 2,500 teachers and more than 300 classified staff. Class sizes would go up in K-4. Here’s the full statement:

Both chambers of the Legislature today made an attempt to lessen the blow to education funding. The Senate budget, however, still makes cuts to education that will have real impacts on real students.  As this legislative session moves into its final days, I will urge the Legislature to support the House’s funding levels for our schools.

The Senate budget significantly cuts funding for the K-4 staffing ratio enhancement, reduces the funding districts have to hire classified staff and cuts funding for Initiative 728.  What would these cuts mean to our schools? The elimination of about 2,500 teachers and more than 300 bus drivers, secretaries and other classified staff; the increasing of class sizes in our kindergarten through fourth grade;  and the loss to school districts of more than 450,000 hours districts will have facilities maintenance and cleaning.

If I ask myself if today’s students have the same quality of education as their counterparts of three years ago, I would definitely say no. We are moving backward with education funding and putting more of a burden on local school districts. That’s just not right.

The bottom line is, we are now more dependent than ever on local levies for funding public education and that creates an alarming equity issue.

Even raising revenue doesn’t get us back to our 2007 funding levels, and those are the figures a King County Superior Court judge recently ruled weren’t enough to amply fund basic education.

Our education system is much more complex than when we first enacted education reform in 1994, and that’s about where the Senate’s proposed funding puts us. We have nearly 10 percent more low-income students and double the number of English-language learners (with 202 languages spoken by K-12 students). We have got to get serious about this. We’re asking educators to do much more with not nearly enough.

Let’s be clear, neither of these budgets meets our constitutional requirement to amply fund basic education. When we don’t put education funding first, students suffer. As the state’s education leader, I will let both chambers know their budgets continue to underfund education and do not ensure all our students are provided a meaningful, equitable education.

We talked for a while on the Legislature and the uncertain state of education funding. Dorn said a priority was to keep levy equalization, which is the state’s way of giving local districts some extra dollars once levies are passed. But this was a hopeful request, not something certain at the time of his visit in late January.

He also spoke about the potential for full-day kindergarten programs to be slashed in the state. This only applied to a small percentage of districts that get all their kindergarten funds from the state.

I asked Dorn whether skipping the first round of Race to the Top had drawn criticism. And he talked some about how Washington wasn’t in a position to be competitive at the time, but that the true focus for the state was on addressing the more immediate needs, rather than putting time and potentially money on an uncertain grant application.

With that said, Dorn talked about our lack of a charter law, and whether it could make a difference in education.

“We should be more innovative in the choices that students have,” he put it simply. Dorn pointed out that local programs like Running Start, or even private schools like DeSales, all met with criticism when first established, but now work because they offer alternatives that families are often seeking.

Dorn also voiced strong support for implementing daily science education in all grades, particularly elementary school. Families can expect to see a stronger push for math and science education in the coming years.

Other things that may be discussed in the near future is a better system of accountability, using data to track both student progress and teacher performance. Dorn said that will take a strong focus on data collection and analysis.

The amount each state gets in the end will be decided by the proposals and measures states have in place, which will be ranked and tallied for a particular sum.

The first round of applications closed earlier this month. Oregon is applying for the money, and qualifies for about $200 million. Washington state did not apply, although state leadership has indicated a desire to apply during the second round of applications in the spring.

Money will go to states that prove the best innovations and practices at improving academics. Some of the most basic questions – are students learning? are they progressing? do parents and students have choices? Are good teachers being properly compensated and recognized? Are bad teachers being disciplined or removed in a timely way?

From the literature out there, it seems pretty clear that states with charter school laws are going to be ahead in the race. Randy Dorn, Washington’s top educator, said today that not having charter schools in the state will hurt Washington’s chances.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools believes Washington state may miss out on as much as $250 million of the Race to the Top money in part because of their lack of a charter school law.

Dorn also noted that the state’s “cumbersome process to remove poor teachers” will make us less competitive for the grant.

But new Legislation, Senate Bill 6696, outlines the state’s commitment to improving education. Dorn believes the bill “will move us past the starting line but will not win the race.”

Signs of a redesigned devil, with a more comic-ish feel, started cropping up in programs at the Wa-Hi football games. And the logo is still displayed on the Wa-Hi website, at wahibluedevils.org.

I believe it is safe to say that public outcry against such a change was heard loud and clear. And the last I heard, any momentum to replace to old logo had been stopped.

In any case, the report I did on the redesigned logo garnered lots of comments. The story was our top viewed, and top commented online story for the month.

I also got a great e-mail from a local historian who shared pictures of the blue devil as it has morphed over time. Here are some of the images, a stroll down memory lane, as we get ready for the new year.

Cover of the year book in 1938.

The 1940 yearbook.

Here’s the story, and here are the comments that caught my attention:

1. “What happened to the occupants after they were released? Have they been arrested yet?”

2. “I’m wondering what happened after they did search the car and found the guns and drugs, were they arrested?

These are questions I hope to clarify with the police department this week, but my understanding from talking to Officer Tim Bennett last week is that because the driver refused to let the officers search car, the police had to wait for a search warrant to be processed. The K9 unit had arrived to assist with the traffic violation (I believe it was a broken light) and sniffed something suspicious. But until they got access to the car, there was nothing to make an arrest.

So while the officers waited for the search warrant, they had nothing to hold the driver or passenger, so the driver and passenger simply left.  By the time the search warrant arrived, the guys were gone. At the time of the news story, there had been no arrests.

Staff member Jeremy Gradwohl shared some of these pictures with me, which detail the float from creation to participation in the parade.

Lincoln students prepare a snowman for the float.

Work goes on by Lincoln students on a snowman for their float.

The finished snowman cruises as part of the Macy's Lights Parade through downtown Walla Walla

A fuller view of the Lincoln Alternative High float, which took first place in it category.

Another view of the Lincoln high float, which took first place in its category.

Lincoln students rock out, with instruments and singing, on their float.

If you run out of ideas, here are some kid-friendly activities that could help the time go by:

- Go ice skating at the Ice Chalet. Youth 12 and under skate free Fridays from 5 to 5:45 p.m.

- Check out a movie at Hallett Grand Cinemas.

- Go bowling at Bowlaway or Stardust lanes.

- Stop by the Children’s Museum. Or for a day trip, visit the children’s museum in Pendleton.

- Visit a local diner, coffee shop, ice cream or candy shop and meet friends for a special drink or dessert.

If we get any snow, there will be lots of spots to go sledding. We usually head to Fort Walla Walla, next to the bike course, but I’ve heard Pioneer Park and the community golf course are also good spots.

If you have any other good, kid-friendly suggestions to pass the winter break, please pass them on!

The model is similar to what Walla Walla Public Schools offers at Sharsptein and Edison elementary schools. Children, both English and Spanish native speakers, are taught English and Spanish equally as they go through school.

The Yakima article, and the reader comments following it, are interesting. But what the comments leave out is that English-speaking children benefit from such programs by learning a second language at a young age.

In foreign countries, it is often the norm (at least in private schools) to teach children at least one other language as they go through school. The few years I spent as a child in Peru (a Spanish-speaking country) I attended a school where I was also taught English. A good friend of mine learned German. Other people I know learned Quechua, a native language.

Such local programs seem to be quickly tarnished because of the belief that they may hinder children’s ability to learn the country’s main language, English. But I would want to add the monkey wrench that having children who can read, write and speak two languages is a good thing.

Although some English Language Learner programs are not ideal, the dual-language programs seem to be popular and successful because of the equal dedication to both languages.

Any thoughts?

For families looking for alternatives to trick-or-treating the old fashioned way, the downtown businesses will again share treats with area children from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 31. Then from 5-7 p.m., Walla Walla High School students are hosting a “trunk or treat” event in its main parking lot, where children can also trick-or-treat in a safe environment. Families that want to participate in the Wa-Hi event should bring a canned good.