The top two candidates who emerged from the Washington State Primary election both appear to possibly be ready to empty the state's coffers in order to appease the controversial McCleary Supreme Court decision on funding public education.

Democratic State Representative Chris Reykdal and former educator, teacher and state education official Erin Jones got the most votes in the August 2 primary.

Jones, endorsed by the Seattle Times, said she is prepared to organize an "army" of school students to march on Olympia and complain about the lack of education funding.

Reykdal has said he, if elected, would introduce a bi-partison plan that would fully fund the mandates of the McCleary Decision. Some years ago, the State Supreme Court, in a move that many felt was overstepping their bounds, 'ordered' the Legislature to devote certain percentages of the entire budget to education funding-even at the expense of other programs.

While many parts of the McCleary mandates have been met, legislators have balked at others, because the state did not have the revenue. The teachers union, the WEA, has favored the decision because it will mean more teachers and educators will be hired, resulting in a lot more union dues.

Both candidates appear to have completely missed the issue of examining where  education funding is going, and finding ways to target dollars where needed, and eliminate governmental education waste.

However, Jones in the past has said McCleary and funding is not the issue, but it's HOW the money is spent, and she also believes Common Core has become a "distraction" turns attention away from real education issues. She has not taken a firm, outspoken position either way on that issue.

Many voters cast their ballots for Ron Higgins, a former engineer with decades of education, teaching and public service experience. Higgins, who holds or has held teaching credentials in several states, was a firm believer in returning education control to states instead of the Federal government, and he took a firm stand against Common Core. Higgins did very respectably in the primary, gathering over 17% of the vote compared to the 20 and 24% of Jones and Reykdal. However, he did not make the final ballot in November.

The field was very crowded, with 9 candidates seeking to replace the retiring Randy Dorn.

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