Petition to the Legislature of the State of Washington

I, the undersigned, resident of the State of Washington, support the following:

That every child in Washington is entitled to a high-quality education that will prepare him for success in work and in life;

That the Constitution of the State of Washington requires the state, as its paramount duty, to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders;

That the public school system no longer meets the needs of 21st century society as evidenced by the following facts:

• For the first time in Washington's history, public education officials are producing a generation of students who are less educated than their parents;
• Almost one-third of all students fail to graduate from high school;

That without systemic, fundamental change to the way public schools are financed, governed and managed, the public school system will continue to fail too many of Washington's children;

For all of the aforementioned reasons, I encourage public education officials to consider reforms that include, but aren't limited to:

• Decentralize the management of schools to give principals more control over their budgets and personnel decisions
• Create an appointed board of directors for each school to provide principals with support and guidance
• Identify suitable interventions for students who are struggling in the classroom and ending the practice of promoting them to the next grade level when they aren't adequately prepared
• Implement a system of merit pay to reward teachers who are doing an excellent job and gradually phase out tenure to encourage all teachers to strive for excellence
• Give parents the freedom to choose the school best suited to their child.

I believe Washington's leaders need to think creatively about reforming public education for the benefit of all children and to ensure the continued prosperity of our state.