Lawmakers Get Back To Business Of Education

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state lawmakers say 2016 really will be the year they focus on reforming the way the state pays for education.

House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan says the Legislature is under pressure from both the courts and state law to finally resolve the complicated budget issues at the heart of the Supreme Court decision known as the McCleary decision.

The Legislature is under a 2018 deadline to finish paying for its previous commitments to improve education funding, and to fix the state's overreliance on local school levies to pay for basic education, including teacher salaries.

Although lawmakers have many other priorities this year — from mental health to state prisons and wildfires — Speaker Frank Chopp says nothing will take priority over education funding.