Oct. 25, 2011

Contact:      Linda Farmer, APR | Director of Communications
                   Association of Washington School Principals
                   O: 360.357.7951 | C: 253.232.2891
                   lindaf@awsp.org

Gov. Gregoire Delivers Bleak Outlook on Education
 Funding to Principals’ Conference

But it's not all bad news: she gives heartfelt thanks for principals’ hard work
on teacher principal evaluation system
 

Gov. Gregoire with sixth-grader Meaghan Shell, who introduced Gregoire before her keynote.

“I wish I had better news for you,” began Washington Governor Chris Gregoire as she addressed the AWSP Principals’ Conference on Oct. 25. “Let’s talk about something that has been plaguing me every single day. The budget. And it’s not good news."

Gregoire gave the day's keynote speech titled “K-12 Education, The Challenges Ahead.” She was introduced by Meaghan Shell, a sixth-grader at Stevens Elementary in Spokane.

The governor is set to unveil a preview of her budget on Oct. 27 that will propose about $2 billion in cuts. Included will be non-basic education items along with suggestions for cuts to social services, health care and other areas.

“Every option on the list is hard,” the governor said. To put the proposed cuts in perspective, she noted that the state has a $32 billion budget but that since 2008 they’ve had to cut $10 billion. Of the remaining budget, only 64%, or $8.7 billion, is available for further cuts. “I don’t want to underestimate how hard this is for you. You are where the rubber meets the road. Everything is on the table. It has to be. There are no sacred cows.”

Though the outlook for education funding was bleak, the governor promised to fight hard to keep one non-basic education item at the top of the “keep” list — the new teacher principal evaluation system. The reality, the governor said, is that there are good teachers and bad teachers. Good principals and bad principals. And the problems have to be addressed better than they’re being addressed now. “We need to have a good evaluation system that people can have confidence in,” she said.

The governor stressed that the evaluation system is designed to be much more than a tool for grading performance. “In the end this is about professional development. It’s about growing.”

On a positive budget note, Gregoire cited the good news coming from certain business sectors. “The sky is not falling. International trade is booming. Aerospace is booming. There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said, noting that “we just gotta get there.”

The governor offered this parting thought: “We (Washington state) did not cause this problem. The collapse of Wall Street did. But we need to get over it! It’s our problem to fix.” She said the time for armchair critics is over. She’s looking for solutions from the people who are in the trenches. She specifically asked that principals review her budget coming out later this week and give her specific “what-else-would-you-have-cut” feedback.

“You will see these cuts. I want to hear from you. I am open to your feedback.”

More than 400 principals, teacher-leaders, superintendents and ESD personnel attended the conference, which began on Oct. 22 and ended at noon on Oct. 25 at the Red Lion Hotel at the Park in Spokane. Speakers included national teacher evaluation expert Charlotte Danielson, and ESD 113 Assistant Superintendent Dana Anderson, creator of a free teaching evaluation app. In addition, the conference featured the work of four districts who are piloting the state’s new teacher principal evaluation system.

“It was great the governor could come today. She didn’t sugarcoat her message and that’s helpful as we move forward,” said Gary Kipp, Executive Director of AWSP. “I’ve appreciated how she’s purposefully looped in the principals and other education associations on her budget deliberations. She’s taking the reality of today’s classroom situations seriously as she makes the tough decisions.”

The AWSP Principals’ Conference was sponsored by Horace Mann, PEMCO Insurance, School Employees Credit Union of Washington and Walden University.

About the Association of Washington School Principals
The Association of Washington School Principals is a professional association serving principals, assistant principals and principals in training. Formed in 1972, the association now includes more than 3,300 members from public and private elementary, middle and high schools statewide. It is governed by a board of practicing principals representing the three grade levels. www.awsp.org.

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