Washington Policy Center

Washington Policy Center is an independent, non-partisan think tank promoting sound public policy based on free-market solutions.

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New at Washington Policy Blog

Powerful Teachers’ Union Elects New President
By Liv Finne
Thursday, May 16, 2013
On April 27, 1,200 delegates of the powerful state teachers union, the Washington Education Association, gathered at a Representative Assembly meeting in Bellevue to elect new top executives.  The new union leaders will serve two-year terms.  The union president received a compensation package worth $186,000 in pay and benefits in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available.  
SB 5242 would end "Dance of the Lemons" in teachers’ placements
By Liv Finne
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Every public school principal is painfully familiar with being forced to send children to a classroom where she knows the teacher there is not the best fit, but the teacher's placement has been forced on the school by higher-ups at the central district. In an effort to improve classroom instruction, bad teachers are often shuffled from one school to another, an administrative tactic known among principals as "The Dance of the Lemons."
New budget due on June 1 under state law
By Jason Mercier
Thursday, May 16, 2013
With it being all quiet on the Western Legislative Front, there is one date to keep in mind concerning the ongoing state budget negotiations: June 1. While there are rumors that lawmakers may wait for the June 18 Revenue Forecast to see if the recent improvement in state economic activity can help bridge the budget divide, state law may make waiting that long a bit tricky. According to RCW 43.88.080 (emphasis added): 
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