“Perhaps the sticks in the task force plan are more certain than the carrots. But the task force plan offers a 54 percent increase in funding at a time when inadequate funding has been the [Washington Education Association’s] major complaint for decades,” writes Callaghan. “That should make teachers want to sit down and talk about it, not reject it with a wave of the hand and a heavy dose of rhetoric.”

Sure, the bills call for substantial increase in state funding to education, as well as all-day kindergarten, more professional days and in many cases higher pay for teachers and the addition of early learning to the definition of basic education (hooray!). But the bills also call for increased accountability through a statewide data system and the phase-in of a pay-for-performance system for teachers.

Carrots and sticks are fundamental parts of life, politics and the education system, in general. And, for some reason, the phrase “to whom much is given, much is required” keeps coming to mind (wait, isn’t that from Spiderman?).

These bills certainly aren’t the silver bullet to education reform, but they do represent a HUGE step in the right direction. And left and right parents, citizen groups and even superintendents are stepping up to express their support for SB 5444 and HB 1410. But unfortunately, there remain groups who want to throw these bills out (baby and bathwater) and fail to recognize how many benefits the legislation could provide to educators.

To quote Callaghan: “Did I mention a 54 percent – at least – increase in state funding? That’s $3.53 billion more each year for K-12 education.”

Wouldn’t a better strategy for education finance reform involve all groups coming to the table to support the bills’ process and working together to make changes that everyone can live with? This may sound politically naïve, but I’m still hopeful.

To learn more about the bills supporting the recommendations of the Basic Education Finance Task Force visit, Rep. Ross Hunter’s blog: What it Takes for Kids.