Let us help you out, justices.
Let us help you out, justices. Wa.gov

This morning, as kids trekked to Seattle-area schools for their first day of the new year, the Washington Supreme Court held a hearing in Olympia on how badly underfunded those schools—all of the state's public schools—are.

The justices of the court questioned what other "coercive" methods they can use, besides levying $100,000 daily fines, to force lawmakers to do their jobs under the state constitution and adequately fund education. The court first held the state legislature in contempt back in 2012, in what's known as the McCleary ruling. Washington has no income tax and one of the most regressive tax systems in the country, which means state government doesn't collect enough revenue to properly fund schools.

“If $100,000 a day isn’t coercive, how is announcing something else that could easily be changed by the Legislature going to be coercive?” pondered Justice Susan Owens, in response to the McCleary family's call for harsher sanctions.

Slog: Vote the best ideas below, or add your own in the comments. Let us know what you decide, Justice Owens!