Issaquah kids could lose four days of classes next school year, if the governor’s budget proposal goes through this spring.

The loss would be about $2.2 million to the Issaquah School District.”The governor’s cuts-only plan is a colossal step backward,” said ISD Superintendent Steve Rasmussen.

The state is facing another $1.4 billion revenue shortfall next fiscal year.

To earn back the four school days, Governor Christine Gregoire has asked lawmakers to pass a half-cent sales tax increase, which would last three years.

Current state law requires tax increases to pass the state legislature by two-thirds vote, making the tax unlikely.

Her proposal would cut Issaquah’s calendar from 180 days of instruction to 176 days, which accounts for about $1.85 million of the proposed losses for the district.

The governor also proposed cutting health benefits to teachers, a $360,000 loss, and reducing bonuses for National Board Certified teachers by $1,000. About 80 teachers in the district are receiving bonuses from the program.

Gregoire mentioned she made a decision to spare classroom sizes from getting any larger, but ultimately that decision is left up to the school districts.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn called the proposed cuts “catastrophic to basic education.”

“Our school year is already too short when compared to our economic competitors,” he said. “We simply can’t go backward on school day.”