budget

Everyone’s state budget is going to focus on K-12 education funding this year, because the governor and legislators campaigned on promises to meet the constitutional mandate, and because the state Supreme Court has demanded it. That’s understandable, but a solitary focus on K-12, without…

It’s budget crunch time at the Legislature, which in recent years has given state employees the jitters. Lawmakers have turned to state workers several times to help fill budget deficits, asking them to take pay cuts and contribute more to their medical and pension plans.

For policy wonks, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) is a mod buzzword. STEM transcends political party, a Republican and Democratic anthem. More STEM and health-care graduates will invigorate Western Washington's economy, and fill a yawning skills gap. And so there's…

The battle over the state budget begins in earnest now.

Legislators generally wait for the March revenue forecast before rolling out their spending plans. And Wednesday, they got what passes for good news nowadays — no big drop in projected tax collections.

State lawmakers have a big problem: The next two-year state budget faces a shortfall of up to $1.3 billion. And on top of that, the state Supreme Court has said Washington isn't meeting its obligation to fully fund basic education. Meeting that mandate could cost an additional $500 million…

In Washington, higher-education funding is (or at least should be) a bipartisan touchstone, a leg up for poor and middle-class students and a spur to a high-tech and manufacturing-centric economy. Year after year in Olympia, higher ed was cast as a core service, as integral to the state's…

A group of Washington state senators vowed Tuesday to increase funding for higher education by $300 million but declined to say how they would get the money at a time when lawmakers are struggling to balance the budget.

Republican Sen. Michael Baumgartner, who…

There was a telling moment just before Gov. Jay Inslee raised his right hand and took the oath of office.

He was introduced as a politician who sees climate change as “an existential threat that transcends politics.”

Active-military troops who are taking courses through Washington colleges and universities learned recently that they may lose a tuition assistance benefit that helps pay for college. The cut is part of the federal budget sequester.

One of the Washington colleges likely to be most…