<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Education fix could cost state $6 billion

Earlier estimates ignored issue of using local levies

The Columbian
Published: February 18, 2015, 12:00am
2 Photos
Early daffodils bloom as two Washington State Patrol troopers walk toward the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in Olympia, Wash. Temperatures hit record highs Monday in parts of Washington and Oregon as one of the mildest winters continues in the Northwest (AP Photo/Ted S.
Early daffodils bloom as two Washington State Patrol troopers walk toward the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in Olympia, Wash. Temperatures hit record highs Monday in parts of Washington and Oregon as one of the mildest winters continues in the Northwest (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Photo Gallery

SEATTLE — The actual cost of the Washington Supreme Court’s ruling on how the state pays for education could reach as much as $6 billion — double most estimates floating around the Legislature, lawmakers and state officials say.

Most estimates involving the McCleary decision include only all-day kindergarten, smaller classes, student transportation and classroom supplies — requirements expected to add as much as $3 billion to the state’s two-year budget.

But the 2012 court ruling also called on the state to quit relying on local school levies to fill holes in the state budget. The Supreme Court says the state’s reliance on levy dollars for basic education is unconstitutional because levies are not a stable, sustainable source of money for education and aren’t uniform across the state.

The Washington Education Association estimated that districts spent $1.6 billion of levy dollars during the 2013-14 school year on the salaries of teachers and other school employees.

Data provided by the staff of Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, show local levies contributed on average $60,000 per administrative salary and $10,000 per teacher and para-educator salary during the previous school year.

“You can fix almost all of this by screwing around with property taxes,” Hunter explained.

Hunter has been leading the charge in the Legislature on this issue for several years but has not made a lot of headway. He acknowledges that it’s a complicated problem. Some reasons:

• Gov. Jay Inslee has spoken out against previous levy solutions. Teacher pay rates should be set regionally, since the local job market influences what school districts need to pay.

• The Washington Education Association, which represents teachers statewide, isn’t likely to support restrictions on local bargaining that Hunter believes are necessary.

“The politics are horrific and it’s a lot of money and property tax is the third rail. It makes people crazy,” Hunter summed up the issue.

But it is doable and will be accomplished, said Hunter, a former Microsoft employee who loves big challenges.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn said the Supreme Court will not be satisfied if the Legislature ignores the local levy issue.

The court has said it will hold the state in contempt if the Legislature does not solve the McCleary problem this session or at least set up a detailed plan for doing so.

The issue involves disparity of property values and how much that property can be taxed by local school districts. Previous attempts at making the system more equitable worked initially, but then local districts with lots of taxing power ramped up their levies to keep teacher pay competitive.

Powerful lawmakers in both parties and both chambers agree this issue must be resolved soon.

Loading...