By Jake Goldstein-Street | Reporter
Washington state schools chief Chris Reykdal is asking the governor and lawmakers to provide nearly $2 billion more for public schools in the next two-year budget. Reykdal, a Democrat, said Thursday that the money is needed to meet the state’s constitutional obligations to amply fund basic education. A chunk would also go toward expanding learning assistance for students from low-income families and restoring early learning funding.
Reykdal recognizes it’ll be an uphill battle with the state facing another budget shortfall.
“We understand it’s going to be a heck of a battle up there,” he said in a news conference. “We fundamentally believe that we are no longer being amply funded, that the constitution is not being met and the Supreme Court order in McCleary is not being met. We’re urging lawmakers to get to their constitutional duty before everything else.”
Also in today’s edition…
• State funding for wildfire and flood recovery.
• And, reflections on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
News tips, feedback, questions? Email us: [email protected]
Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal holds a press conference in February. (Photo by Aspen Ford/Washington State Standard)
By Jerry Cornfield and Aspen Ford
Not included among Reykdal’s funding aims? Universal free lunches for students. This puts Reykdal at odds with Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has vowed to use money from the state’s new income tax on high earners to cover the estimated $140 million cost in the 2029-31 budget. Reykdal says this isn’t the right time, as he believes at-risk school services and programs are more important.
By Jerry Cornfield
A state board has approved over $7 million in grants and loans for local governments to recover from last December’s historic flooding and this summer’s wildfires. For example, the city of Spokane is getting a $1 million loan for emergency work at the Northside Landfill where electrical service and roughly three-quarters of the vegetation cover were damaged by the Old Trails Fire. That blaze is one of three Spokane-area fires that damaged or destroyed more than 800 structures in August.
Today marks 25 years since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which changed the fabric of American life. On that day, al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial jets, slamming two into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in what is the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.
The fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a rural stretch of land in Pennsylvania, killing its 40 passengers and crew. The editor-in-chief of the Standard’s sister newsroom in Pennsylvania owned a piece of land that was part of the crash site.
“It’s always hard to come back here, but it’s always a chance to remember the sacrifices made by the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that day,” said Tim Lambert, who leads the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. “I think it’s important 25 years later to remember what they did and why they did it. They decided to act on a day that America was under attack.”
READ MORE: On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, States Newsroom editor remembers the heroes of Flight 93 | by Shalina Chatlani
The American flag flies at the entry to the pathway that leads to the Wall of Names at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. The visitor center is in the background. (Photo courtesy of Tim Lambert)
In the quarter-century since 9/11, the architecture of American intelligence and policing has changed. The attacks expanded how government agencies collect, share and analyze information, and brought national security tools deeper into ordinary law enforcement.
This has only grown with the digital revolution. Automated license plate readers can track where people drive. Facial recognition can help identify people in crowds. Commercial data can reveal where and how people live and travel. And increasingly, artificial intelligence can analyze and connect these streams of information at a speed no human investigator could match.
READ MORE: How 9/11 changed the way America surveils its citizens | by Amanda Watford
ICYMI
Affordable Care Act insurance costs to rise steeply again in WA | by Jake Goldstein-Street
WA, other states sue feds over endangered species rollbacks | by Alex Brown
Thanks for reading The Daily Standard. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.