Students, parents and teachers at Thomas Jefferson High School sat down with Gov. Jay Inslee Friday to speak about critical issues affecting public education.

Nearly all of them expressed the need for more state capital funding to update school buildings and relieve student overcrowding.

“Here at Thomas Jefferson, it’s aging. It was not build to be here this long,” Inslee said. “It is bursting at the seams. The state needs to help in the capital construction costs of these schools.”

Funding extra curricular activities and programs was a key issue for Inslee, however.

“There was numerous discussions of the extra-curricular things that are done here to help develop leadership skills, technical skills and how important those are to the overall education and mission of this school,” Inslee said. “And that’s why state funding is so important, so schools will have the ability to do those types of things.”

Inslee said “some folks,” however, are interested in putting a cap on what local communities can do for those programs.

“I’m generally opposed to that,” he said. “I want TJ and other schools to be able to do these robotics programs and oratory programs and chemistry programs, so that’s a big part of the debate.”

Legislators have until June 30 to pass a budget before state government is shutdown. They are tasked with, among other things, fully funding education – a state mandate.

“I love what’s going on here,” Inslee said referring to Thomas Jefferson. “It’s so exciting to see the excitement of the kids and educators. We’ve got a good thing going on here.”

For more information, visit www.governor.wa.gov.