Washington state is projected to face a $12 billion shortfall over the next four years. KIRO 7′s Monique Ming Laven sat down for an exclusive interview with Governor-elect Bob Ferguson to ask him how he plans to address the issue and what it could mean for your family.
Education
In September, Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction said he was asking for a $2.9 billion increase in funding for public schools. KIRO 7 asked what that looked like for him.
Ferguson said there are no cuts proposed for K-12 schools, community and technical colleges, or public safety.
“I don’t think a year ago folks saw this level of a shortfall coming our way,” Ferguson told KIRO 7. “So, you know, that said, in what I’m proposing, we have a few parts of state government that I’m excluding from those cuts K through 12. Education is, of course, one of those because the percentage of our budget that goes to K through 12 education needs to increase, not decrease.”
However, Ferguson said he’s calling for a 3% cut to four-year higher education.
When asked about the $100 million deficit at Seattle Public Schools, will the state step in?
“I’m not going to make promises I can’t deliver on. I think folks understand if you’ve got a $12 billion shortfall over the next few years, you know, it’s not going to be an easy time for us as a state. That said, I also think it’s critical for us, for elected officials to scrub that budget and be as efficient as possible,” Ferguson said. “So my message to those parents would be, I’ll be doing everything I can do and encouraging legislature to do everything they can do to make sure we are prioritizing education, to make sure we are scrubbing our budget. There may be some hard choices, right?”
Ferguson added, “I think that’s a good way to to summarize it. Yeah. And any time you’re facing a multibillion dollar shortfall and we’re talking $12 billion, maybe more, that’s a significant shortfall. And there’s no easy way to work your way through a shortfall of that size. So, yes, at the end of day, it’s going to be shared sacrifice. But at the same time, I do think there’s opportunity there to make our operations more streamlined, more efficient, focus on our key priorities. And but we have no choice. We have to we have to get serious about streamlining our operations.”
Ferry system
More than 50,000 Washingtonians depend on them to get to work, but it’s often anything but smooth sailing.
Washington’s ferry system is navigating a slue of issues— from a staffing shortage to old boats to trying to build electric vessels.
“I want more money for more ferries to get more ferries constructed. That means other folks may not be getting funding for important programs,” he said in the interview.
Law Enforcement
Washington state has the fewest law enforcement offers per capita in the country. Ferguson told KIRO 7 he is calling for another $200 million to be set aside to help law enforcement agencies recruit and hire officers.
But what about funds set aside for crisis counselors or social services?
“I think both are not mutually exclusive. And by the way, I would add, I’ve had many conversations with firefighters, for example, across the state. The first thing they often bring up in those conversations, Hey, Bob, to your point, we’re being called out for these other types of calls than we have in the past, that opioid epidemic, which is why, by the way, I mentioned money in that billion dollars that we’ve recovered for the state, the money can only be used to address the opioid epidemic.”
Mental Health
What more will the state be doing besides hiring extra police officers?
“Well, we have a budget put together, right, With the budget challenges, I can say on issues related to mental health is I’m going to hire a mental health czar. First time we have that kind of position in state government. That’s going to be someone that’s reporting at the cabinet level reporting to me to try and get our arms around all the different vestments we have where there are gaps in the system.”
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