Politicians at the state level must not be reproducing. If they were, one would wonder why funding for education and the future of our society (children) are continually overlooked by Olympia. Once again, the burden of this heavy weight has been shifted from the state to the backs of the taxpayers but if we don’t carry it, no one will.

While Initiative 884 is viewed as a regressive tax increase, our “representatives” in Olympia don’t seem to have any clear answers as to how much-needed educational funding will be generated in coming years. They just shrug and agree that we’re not spending enough on it.

That’s not even close to a solution.

I-884 would create an accountable system in the form of a dedicated fund in which $1 billion would be set aside for all aspects of education each year. Education needs to once again become a cornerstone of our society instead of a crumbling mass. Our future economy is riding on how well our children are taught today.

Taxes will always be increasing, that’s a given. At least I-884 lets us direct them to an area that is severely underfunded, not to mention vital.Opponents will ask whether we can afford to pay more taxes to support education. We ask, how can we afford not to?

In this vein, while charter schools may seem like a viable answer to “saving” public education, they are nothing more than a drain on our existing system. Referendum 55 proponents claim that public schools are to blame for high drop out rates and that the “competition” created will benefit our classrooms.

Education should not be treated with the same mentality as a fast food chain or a gas station franchise.

The fact is that charter schools would take money from our current system — which admittedly isn’t perfect — and place it in the hands of private boards that wouldn’t even be accountable for the first three years. We’ve shot this lame duck down twice. Let’s see if we can go three for three.