THE STATE Supreme Court ruled last week what many people have been saying for years: The Legislature isn’t doing its “paramount duty,” according to the state constitution, to fund basic eduction.

Last Wednesday was the landmark day, anticipated since oral arguments were heard last June, and the bipartisan response was just as curious as lawmakers’ efforts to cut billions of dollars in proposed spending to balance the state’s general fund during the past several years.

As I familiarize myself more with a broader coverage area for two weekly newspapers, I had scheduled meetings with state Reps. Hans Zeiger and Bruce Dammeier, both Republicans from Puyallup’s 25th Legislative District, during the past two weeks.

Zeiger has been working on higher education along with Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, and Dammeier is the ranking Republican on the Education Committee and assistant ranking on the Education Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee.

It just so happened that I met Dammeier for the first time a few hours after the Supreme Court decision was announced, and it was right in his wheelhouse.

“I think it validates what we’ve known all along,” he said, pausing halfway through the conversation to field an anticipated phone call from another media outlet.

His argument is that the state has made across-the-board cuts for the past four years, and K-12 education has gone with it. Lawmakers have failed to prioritize, he said. Instead, they’ve simply closed budget gaps by taking a little out of everything.

That’s not something we’ve done at my house.

As you can probably imagine, the newspaper industry isn’t full of high-paying jobs; we’ve had a wage freeze and a reduction since 2009, and we’ve taken a weeklong, unpaid furlough in each of the past three years.

Even for those who are employed, times are tough.

At the office, we’ve looked at our expenses, everything from mileage to printer paper — and payroll, too.

At home, along with more cost-conscious choices at the grocery store and gas stations, we completely cut TV more than 18 months ago. Addtional expenses, ranging from daycare to medical, are simply more important.

Somehow we’ve managed to survive.

I’m not suggesting the state can simply pull the plug on an electronic device and find the answer to a $1.2 billion shortfall. State Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, has made that abundantly clear in any public comments he’s made about the budget for the past three years.

Kilmer is right that if the state were to shut down all of its higher-education institutions, plus all of its prisons and all of its environmental programs, it would get close to solving the funding problem.

What works with family budgets, though, is when you set priorities and eliminate other expenses. Cut back during lean times and save money during more prosperous times so the peaks and valleys have less of an impact.

The hope is that last week’s Supreme Court decision will show legislators that basic education needs to be prioritized. The state constitution calls it our “paramount duty.” That’s a good place to start.

Brian McLean is the editor of The Peninsula Gateway and The Puyallup Herald. He can be reached at 253-853-9245 or by email at brian.mclean@gateline.com. Follow him on Twitter, @gateway_brian.