WWU union members press legislative candidates on funding, public records reforms
A room of union members pressed candidates for the 40th and 42nd Legislative Districts on funding for higher education at a town hall Monday, May 18 at Western Washington University.
All candidates agreed that higher education should receive more funding. But they differed as to where that funding should come from or didn’t address the “how” at all.
The town hall was organized by Western’s faculty, staff and student worker unions, after years of deep cuts and budget challenges at the university. This year, lawmakers avoided deep cuts to higher education by initiating a fund swap that pulled money from the capital budget to fill a hole in the operating budget. But they’ve noted this isn’t a sustainable solution. Western also receives the lowest per-student funding of any four-year regional university in Washington.