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Budget Deal Struck In Washington Legislature

Washington public schools will get an additional nearly $60 million, but teachers will not get a cost of living raise this year. That’s the upshot of a budget deal that’s being announced at the Capitol in Olympia.

This budget deal represents a compromise between the Democratically-controlled Washington House and mostly Republican majority in the state Senate. To reach a deal, both sides agreed not to fight over tax breaks. Democrats gave up a proposal to close four tax exemptions.

Republicans dropped their plan to extend several tax breaks. With the tax fight off the table, the two sides compromised around spending priorities. More money will go to public schools to pay for materials, supplies and operations. But teachers will have to wait another year to get their voter-approved cost-of-living raises. 

Lawmakers will now scramble to pass this update to the state’s two-year budget before the end of Thursday, the last scheduled day of the legislature’s 60-day session.

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.