Busing advisory panel seeks improved equity

Evergreen district chief John Deeder is one of two school superintendents on a small, special advisory council trying to revamp state bus funding for 21st century needs.

Bus dispatchers, business managers and other school leaders from across Washington have huddled over several months’ time to grind out new options to be presented to the state Legislature by December.

Deeder carries water for larger districts in suburban and urban areas that have been chronically underfunded, he said.

“I’m trying to find a solution that doesn’t favor one size district over another,” he said.

A draft final report due Oct. 17 could include three alternate plans to improve funding formula equity, efficiency, clarity, administrative control and predictability.

The first two plans would incorporate additional district attributes such as land area covered, roadway miles, number of midday runs (for kindergarten, vocational or special education) and others to disburse money more equitably. Deeder said they carry price statewide price tags of $90 million to $95 million, however.

A third option would take “best practices” results measured across similar factors and set funding targets based on the most efficient districts for each, Deeder said. Price tag: about $25 million.

Certainly, any new money from Olympia is a long shot amid a horrific budget crisis. Deeder hopes legislators will adopt a fairer formula next year, funded at some partial level. Better efficiency would soon pay for itself, he said.

Meantime, Evergreen and other districts will try to streamline as much as possible.