A win for ALL kids . . .

We learned today that the state has lost the NEWS funding lawsuit. NEWS stands for Network for Excellence in Washington Schools, a coalition of over seventy organizations that formed to challenge the state’s public school funding formulas. At the request of TEA our district became one of those joining in this effort. This is a day to celebrate as the message in this ruling to the governor and legislature is that the underfunding of the state’s public schools is a violation of Article lX, section 1 of our state constitution.

On the OSPI site, Superintendent Dorn shared his agreement with the ruling and the need for the legislature to step forward and make it happen.

Now that Judge Erlick’s decision has been returned, we, as a state, need to fully fund basic education. For more than 30 years we’ve been heading down this road, and the time for action is now. Only when the Legislature acts affirmatively and addresses this issue can our students obtain the education we are morally and legally obligated to provide.

I don’t envy any of the legislators given the enormity of the budget gap that must be met while now having to stare this ruling in the face as they contemplate making additional cuts to “non-basic” education such as I-728 and the enhanced K-4 funding that all districts have used to lower class size. With the likelihood of additional federal stimulus money being bogged down in the health care fight, I don’t see how they can make all this work in Olympia without additional revenue. The $2.6 billion shortfall will either require significant changes to state government or some combination of increasing revenue and additional cuts. I don’t believe that there are the votes to make significant changes so we will more than likely see the combination of taxes and cuts, another short term solution.

It will be interesting to see if the state chooses to appeal Judge Erlick’s ruling and argue that the funding formulas meet the constitutional requirement that says “it is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders”. We know that we are far from this even with about 20% of our revenue coming from our local community through the levy.

Another important component of the ruling by the judge is the definition of “basic" education that would no longer allow the legislature to change what it funds each session by the revenue available. It would instead need to focus on what young people need to know and be able to do to experience success in post high school learning and work.

In addition to reconfirming that the State Constitution means exactly what it says – and declaring the State in violation of that standard – the court also established that “basic education” is not whatever funding formula lawmakers might choose to adopt during each legislative session, but the “basic knowledge and skills needed to compete in today’s economy and meaningfully participate in this State’s democracy.”

“This definition will help ensure that school funding is focused on student achievement, not arbitrary calculations based on whatever the Legislature feels like spending on K-12 education from year to year,” said Blair, who is superintendent of the Chimacum School District on the Olympic Peninsula.

Last year with passage of HB 2261, the legislature acknowledged that changes are necessary, but gave themselves a number of years (2018) to implement the changes identified in the legislation. The judge in the ruling said that funding 2261 in the future is not an answer to fixing a legal violation that is taking place today. It looks like the timeline may need to change given this ruling. Is an appeal on the horizon?