Washington Business 2019 Legislative Review & Vote Record | Page 15

issue area reports | education and workforce
Education & Workforce Development
Amy Anderson: Education, Workforce, Health Care, and Federal Issues
With record increases in state spending in the 2019
legislative session, education and workforce training
programs were big winners. The 2019-21 budget fully
funds required K-12 spending and provides increases
for school employee benefits ($328.7 million), special
education ($155.2 million), and local effort assistance
($61.6 million). Higher education and workforce training
programs received an estimated $380 million in the 2019-
21 budget and $565.7 million boost in funding due to the
implementation of a B&O tax surcharge on certain service
industries. While the increase in taxes fully funds the State
Need Grant, increases community and technical college
instructor salaries, and implements work-based learning
programs, AWB believes the funding for these efforts could
have been addressed through the increased revenue the
state experienced over the past year.
Amy Anderson is AWB’s government affairs director for education,
2019 became the year of Early Childhood Education and
workforce development, health care and federal issues.
Child Care reform efforts. Bills addressing the state child care
subsidy, the need for additional data about the industry —
including an inventory of facilities — and credentials and certifications for child care providers were plentiful.
AWB co-chairs the legislatively established the Child Care Collaborative Task Force which was expanded and
funded in the 2019 session to address these issues from the perspective of business involvement in solutions.
Washington state employers struggle to find the talented and skilled workforce necessary to fill current job
openings and must focus on that endeavor instead of looking to the future and growing jobs. There will be
an estimated 740,000 job openings in the state in the next five years. Washington state’s education system
is a key tool in the state’s economic development tool box, and one that business relies on for the skilled
and trained workforce necessary to support economic growth. It is critical that the state’s education system
provide options and opportunities for all students. AWB believes that providing multiple pathways to graduation
provides this for our state’s students while maintaining a rigorous and quality education.
Investment in human capital, an individual’s suite of knowledge, talents, experiences, and skills is essential to
grow and sustain a globally competitive economy. In the face of rapidly advancing technology, human capital
becomes essential in both developing and taking advantage of new innovations. Since productivity depends
largely on workers’ command of knowledge and information, human capital theory predicts, and research
has confirmed, that individuals with more education and work experience tend to have significantly higher
incomes than counterparts with less education. These multiple pathways ensure that Washington state high
school students will successfully transition to post-secondary education.
With projections for continued job growth, it is vitally important that Washington state implement education
policies that ensure a future workforce that will support the innovative and successful industries located in
Washington state.
special edition 2019
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