Education Funding Task Force

Last Friday, Gov. Gregoire announced a new task force to develop a plan for school funding in Washington state. You can read the entire press release here. The entire panel will eventually consist of 14 members, five of which are appointed by the governor. They include:

• Dan Grimm of Puyallup has been appointed as chair to a term effective immediately, ending in December 2008. Grimm is the Director of Doughty Hanson & Co.
• Cheryl Chow of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective immediately, ending in December 2008. Chow is the president of Seattle School District board of directors and is a long-time educator with teaching, administration and state agency experience.
• Bette Hyde of Bremerton has been appointed to a term effective immediately, ending in December 2008. Hyde is the superintendent of the Bremerton School District and was a member of the Washington Learns K – 12th advisory committee.
• Jim Kowalkowski of Davenport has been appointed to a term effective immediately, ending in December 2008. Kowalkowski is the superintendent of the Davenport School District and the executive director of the Rural Education Center at Washington State University.
• Laurie Dolan of Olympia has been appointed as the representative from the Office of the Governor/Office of Financial Management to a term effective immediately, ending in December 2008. Dolan is the director of the Executive Policy Office for Governor Gregoire and spent 30 years working for Spokane Public Schools.
  

Additional task force members will be selected from the House and Senate Democratic and Republican caucuses. State Superintendent Terry Bergeson will also serve on the panel.