POULSBO — This time, it’s paramount.
The North Kitsap School District has joined a coalition of public school districts, educational organizations, community groups and residents to file a lawsuit against the state of Washington seeking full funding for public education.
Article IX of the state Constitution reads, “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders …”
A 2006 report from the Census Bureau ranked Washington as the 34th state in the nation for per pupil spending.
Spearheaded by a group called the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools — including the Washington Education Association, the League of Women Voters of Washington and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle among many school districts and education associations as plaintiffs — the Jan. 11 lawsuit aims to be the wrench that will start fixing funding faults. Even so, it doesn’t seek a specific dollar amount.
“There’s not a pot of money being asked for, it’s simply: verify what the constitution says and verify that the state has not changed the funding since they redefined basic ed (in 1993),” said North Kitsap School Board legislative rep and League of Women Voters member Catherine Ahl.
“It’s the basic formula they use that’s broken,” said NKSD Supt. Gene Medina. “It’s a ‘77 formula, delivering to post ‘06 world requirements.”
According to budget numbers from the NKSD’s 2005-2006 report, of the district’s $46.2 million spent on basic education (including certified, classified, administrative staff payroll, transportation and special education) just over $34.5 million was funded by state and federal dollars leaving roughly an $11.6 million gap.
As the educational portion of the state’s general fund budget has shrunk from 47 percent more than a decade ago to 41 percent last year, school districts have frequently had to redirect money from community levies originally intended for educational enhancements — i.e. athletics, extra- and co-curricular activities — to fund basic education.
“The levy ought to be fully funding athletics and anything extra,” Ahl said.
Out of the NKSD’s four-year levy voters passed in 2006 which generates just over $10 million per year, nearly 85 percent is being funneled into basic education support, Medina said.
In Olympia, the 2005 Legislature tasked a committee — renamed “Washington Learns” by Gov. Chris Gregoire — to study the state’s educational finances and identify potential improvements.
Recently, Gregoire announced her recommendation for a two-year state budget which included $12.3 billion for K-12 education, nearly 40 percent of her proposed general fund.
However, that $12.3 billion doesn’t include support for many facets of basic education, NKSD officials said.
“The governor’s budget provides some really exciting funding, but it doesn’t respond to the basic education problem that we have in terms of school operations,” Medina said. “There are some basic core problems that aren’t being addressed.”
But both Gregiore and state Supt. Terry Bergeson’s offices declined comment on the litigation that school advocates say has been coming for some time.
“The reason it didn’t come to a head until a couple of years ago is that school districts have been making do, teachers have just simply been working harder,” Ahl said. “We’re reaching a point where we can’t make do, we need to do more. There’s nothing else people can give without more resources.”
