Chairman’s Message

My name is Brian Janssen, and I am Chairman for First Class Education for Washington. I want to thank you for taking the time to visit our website and learn more about this important proposal and all that it can do for schools, students and parents.

The First Class Education for Washington plan requires that every school district spend a minimum of 65 cents of each dollar on classroom instruction. Using the only national benchmark available (the National Center for Education Statistics), Washington ranks a dismal 38 th with only 59.5 cents of every dollar being spent on classroom instruction. Using the NCES standards, if Washington schools redirected 5.5 pennies of every school budget dollar to classroom instruction, over $400 million per year would be available, without a tax increase. That's over $400 per student. Per year.

There is a crisis in education and I believe it's time for Republicans, Democrats and Independents in Washington to lay partisan politics aside and work together to improve this situation. Consider a few of these facts:

• Students are not graduating. In the Seattle School District , only 62.6 per cent of students graduated on-time from High School.
• According to the NAEP, in 2003, less than 1/3 (32%) of 8^th graders were proficient in math.²
• More than one-half of Washington community college students must take remedial courses prior to earning college credits.
• A majority of students in 4^th, 7^th, and 10^th grades underperformed on at least one section of the 2004 WASL. 4

It's not enough to demand excellence from our schools.  We have to give them the tools, resources and support to make it possible.  This does not mean merely more money without a system for accountability.  Let's start with a common sense benchmark to prioritize spending, and direct education dollars where they have the greatest impact:  in the classroom!

The superintendents and school board members are the fiscal caretakers of our schools and have the responsibility to ensure that taxpayers' hard-earned dollars are well-spent. I applaud the educational and civic leaders who give their time, resources and energy to improving schools. One of the problems with the education system, however, is the fact that it has grown so large, inefficient and complex that average citizens just don't have the time to figure it out and therefore don't participate.

There is an old business maxim that says “you can't manage what you can't measure.” Just as the WASL provides a framework and benchmark for measuring student learning, our state and local school officials need a benchmark around which spending decisions can be prioritized and understood by an informed public. In addition to directing more money to classroom instruction where it matters most, a core goal of First Class Education for Washington is to stimulate a statewide discussion on how schools spend money.

The First Class Education for Washington measure will bring more transparency, more accountability and more efficiency to the current system. We would like every person involved in the allocation of public education dollars to answer a very simple question during the budgeting process: “Could this dollar be more effectively spent on classroom instruction?”

The 65 cent solution is effective because it is so simple. It provides an achievable benchmark, against which local school boards and superintendents can make more informed decisions, and be held accountable in the eyes of a better educated public. It will focus spending where it has the greatest impact, help uncover waste and inefficiency, educate and inform concerned parents, and help build confidence in districts where confidence is desperately needed.

This is a common sense idea and it is time to put it into action.  I hope that you will join me along with the thousands of active and involved citizens who already support First Class Education for Washington and take the first step to help make this reform a reality in our Evergreen State .

Sincerely,

Brian Janssen
Chairman
First Class Education for Washington

On-Time Graduation Statistics for Districts and Schools
Achievement Levels for Mathematics, Washington
Pre-College (remedial) course taking by recent high school graduates who attend washington community and technical colleges
Washington State Report Card

More from Brian Janssen, Chairman, First Class Education for Washington

Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Initiative would divert more money to classes
Under plan, at least 65% of funds go to instruction

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A stay-at-home dad and former high-tech executive is leading an initiative that would require Washington school districts to spend 65 percent of their budget in the classroom.

The initiative, which was filed last week, is part of a national movement called First Class Education. Based in Washington , D.C. , the movement since last March has been working to get similar proposals passed in every state.