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Gov. Inslee proposes increasing spending by $960.8 million

Gov. Inslee’s 2018 supplemental operating budget would increase near general fund–state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) spending by $960.8 million. This would put 2017–19 appropriations at $44.669 billion. To comply with the Supreme Court’s order that the Legislature needs to fully fund K–12 salaries by school year 2018–19 (rather than SY 2019–20), the proposal would increase spending […]

A few points on the Seattle Times editorial on education reforms

On Friday, the Seattle Times editorial board wrote about six education reforms it believes are needed: improve graduation rates, close the achievement gap, build classrooms, “fully embrace early learning,” maintain college funding, and “fix unintended consequences.” While recommending reforms, the editorial board also acknowledges the recent Supreme Court order in the McCleary case: “In the […]

Regionalization and equity in the new education funding bill

The League of Education Voters (LEV) ran an interesting item last month looking at the spending numbers in the education funding bill the Legislature passed this session (EHB 2242). It notes, . . . it appears we are widening the financial gap between some local districts that historically have received more funding and those that […]

Notes from the Supreme Court order in the McCleary case, and its budget implications

The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Legislature is still out of compliance with its Jan. 9, 2014 order in the McCleary case on school funding, because the salary component of EHB 2242 (the education funding bill enacted this year) will not be fully implemented until the 2019–20 school year—after the Sept. 1, 2018 […]

Background reading on McCleary, in preparation for today’s Court arguments

The state Supreme Court will hear arguments in the McCleary school funding case today at 10. I thought I’d pull some of our writing on McCleary into one post, for those wanting some background reading. In 2016 we wrote a report on the case, the history of school funding in Washington, and the legislative response to […]

An area of agreement between the State and plaintiffs in the McCleary case

On August 30, plaintiffs in the McCleary case submitted their post-budget filing to the Supreme Court, and four amicus briefs were filed by other groups. (I wrote about these filings here.) The State has now responded to them all, and the plaintiffs have responded to the four amicus briefs. Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced that […]

New McCleary briefs argue Legislature’s fix doesn’t go far enough

On Wednesday the plaintiffs in the McCleary case filed a response to the state’s post-2017 session report to the Court. Four other groups also filed briefs with the Court. None agreed with the state that it is now in compliance with the McCleary decision.  The Seattle Times has a good summary of the five filings. […]

Policy Today podcast: McCleary Part 2 – Tax Revenues

Today’s episode covers the new tax revenues in the recently passed K-12 basic education funding law, which the State of Washington hopes will fulfill its obligations in the Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling. Click here to read our Special Report on the new K-12 basic education law.

A technical point about the regionalization factor that increases salary allocations for some school districts

In a Seattle Times column yesterday, Donna Gordon Blankinship asks, “Why can’t school funding be fair?” She argues, “The state needs ample enough funding — as the Washington Constitution requires — so every child has the same opportunity to succeed in life, no matter what ZIP code they live in.” She uses Yakima as an […]

What do school districts mean when they say they’ll be worse off under new funding system?

Several school districts have expressed concern about the state’s new method of funding public schools (as enacted in EHB 2242; here’s our report on the bill). As Melissa Santos reports in the News Tribune, District officials in Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle say they’ll face budget deficits under the state’s new school funding plan, with some […]