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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, January 18, 2012 n VOL. 45, NO. 3 n 75¢
Vikings b-ball: See how Orcas did against Darrington at islandssounder.com Chris Gill photo
Ferry reservations in place by summer
Island perspective
by SCOTT PANITZ Reporter, WNPA Olympia News Bureau
Nate Feder/contributed photo
Local photographer Nate Feder took this image from inside a plane, just east of Griffin Bay.
In the first phase of a plan to expand and upgrade its reservation program, Washington State Ferries will launch a new vehicle reservation system this June for the Port Townsend/Coupeville and Anacortes/Sidney, B.C. routes, as well as commercial routes in the San Juan Islands. The reservation system is scheduled to expand in two more phases to the general San Juan Islands routes in 2014 and the Central Puget Sound routes in 2016, pending successful implementation and funding approval. The new system would be an improvement over the antiquated one the ferries use now, officials claim. WSF deputy chief of operations and construction Capt. George Capacci said that the new system would make the reservation process both simple and reliable. “You can pick the route, tell us how big the vehicle is, how many
Orcas School celebrates a win for education State supreme court rules Washington is not complying with its duty to fund basic education by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Associate Publisher
When the Orcas School District joined a coalition to fight for educational funding, superintendent Barbara Kline knew it was the right thing to do. Now the undertaking has come full circle with a ruling handed down by the state supreme court that declares the state is not complying with its constitutional duty to “make ample provision for the basic education of all children in Washington.” “It feels really good,” Kline said. “It was huge to get that affirmed at the highest court level in the state.We made the right choice to get involved. Just the fact that we have levies means the state is not fully funding education. I was surprised that all of the school districts didn’t sign up in the beginning.” In 2007, Orcas School and the Orcas Education Association were part of a coalition of districts, teachers, community groups and parents that filed a case in King County
Superior Court. McCleary v. Washington alleged that Washington had not fulfilled its constitutional obligation to fully fund basic education and relied too heavily on local levy funding assistance. The court recognized the Legislature had enacted “a promising reform package” in its 2009 education reform bill and indicated that legislation, if funded, “will remedy deficiencies in the K-12 funding system.” While the court deferred to the Legislature to determine how to meet its constitutional duty, it retained jurisdiction over the case to “facilitate progress in the state’s plan to fully implement the reforms by 2018.” “The state appealed this case to the Supreme Court to receive clarification and direction to guide the Legislature in meeting its constitutional duty — and this decision is helpful,” said Rob McKenna, Attorney General of Washington, in a press release. “We’re pleased the court continues to recognize the primary role of the Legislature in determining how to meet its constitutional duty and that the court recognizes the Legislature’s progress in fulfilling the state’s obligation in passing its 2009 education reforms.” In February 2010, the trial judge ruled
that the state did not provide ample funding for basic education, and then directed the Legislature to conduct a study to establish the cost of providing all Washington children with a basic education and to establish how it would fully fund such education with stable and dependable state sources. The state appealed to preserve and clarify the Legislature’s authority and responsibility to determine how best to meet the state’s Constitutional duty to fund basic education. The state Supreme Court rejected the lower court’s direction to the Legislature to conduct a new study establishing the cost of a basic education and similarly rejected the lower court’s direction to the Legislature to establish a new funding plan, finding that the Legislature’s implementation of recently approved education reforms satisfied the requirements to establish a plan and would meet the constitutional obligation to fund basic education if adequately funded. The case was argued before the Washington State Supreme Court on June 28, 2011 by Senior Counsel Bill Clark. The court issued a 7-2 decision in early
SEE EDUCATION, PAGE 5
people, and end up making that reservation,” he said. “We collect the deposit online and you pay the remainder when you show up at the terminal.” According to Capacci, who is also the project drrector for the Vehicle Reservations Program, the new online interface is more userfriendly than the current one and requires the payment of a deposit during the registration process. The deposit is essentially a down payment, a portion of the fare paid at the time of the reservation. Upon arrival at a terminal, about 30 minutes before scheduled sailings, drivers redeem their reservations and pay the balance of their fares. The exact price of the deposit has not been finalized, but it would likely be set at the lowest possible fare at a given time in order to minimize the chance of overcharging, said Capacci. Ferry officials believe the institution of a deposit should curb no-shows, who pose the greatest problem for the current reservation system that calls for no advance payment. “They’re a big problem up at Port Townsend/Coupeville because we don’t charge a deposit
SEE FERRIES, PAGE 5
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