Students took to the state Capitol today to protest the gridlock over paying for education.
Instead of taking the holiday-- members of the Black Lives Matter movement from Seattle's Garfield High took to the rotunda of the state Capitol.
Their demand: Fully fund education, just like the State Supreme Court has ordered.
Shedrick Johnson, president of the Garfield High School Black Student Union, shouted to the crowd “We need new textbooks, we need things that are going to help us learn. We need the funding!”
When Gov. Jay Inslee met with members of the Service Employees International Union, he agreed.
“The most important thing in our state is the education of our children. And they are not getting what they need,” he said.
Full funding would cost roughly $4 billion. A framework to develop a plan has passed the House with bi-partisan support.
But the Republican majority in the Senate prefers to delay it a year until the fall of 2018 so they can be sure the money will be spent efficiently.
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“Not just peppering the system with more money more money more money,” said Vancouver Republican Sen. Don Benton, “But using the money where you can get the best results.
The Black Lives Matter movement is known for fighting police abuse.
But members also believe improving education is key to breaking what they call the "school to prison pipeline.”
Cox Media Group
