Editorials / Opinion

In “Spending more on public education” [Opinion, Jan. 7], state Sen. Christine Rolfes asks, “Do we look for more revenue, even though no one wants to pay more taxes?” The same issue reports on the latest Elway Poll finding that 48 percent of those polled said lawmakers should raise taxes to fund schools and reduce class sizes.

Many of those may favor taxes that do not fall on them personally, but it’s reasonable to assume that there are also many who do want to pay more taxes. We do. We have many friends who do. We might still be a minority, but our numbers could grow if our leaders can be clear about one thing: There is no acceptable alternative to new taxes if our state hopes to climb up from the bottom of the national barrel in education funding and reap the social and economic benefits of properly funded education from preschool through college.

Michael and Beret Kischner, Seattle