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Public higher education institutions in Washington will receive $329.5 million from federal COVID relief bill passed last month

The federal CARES Act (enacted in March 2020) included a Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER I) Fund, which provided relief funding directly to public and private higher education institutions. The CARES Act generally required institutions to use 50% of their allocations for student financial aid grants. According to the U.S. Department of Education, public and […]

How the pandemic is affecting public school funding in Washington and elsewhere in the U.S.

A New York Times article last week looked at public school funding issues related to the pandemic. The new federal aid bill, which was signed by the president on Sunday, includes $54.3 billion for the elementary and secondary school emergency relief (ESSER) fund. (That’s on top of $13.5 billion for this purpose that was part […]

New report: School Funding: Accounting for the Billions Spent in Response to McCleary

In response to the McCleary decision, and as part of the Legislature’s adopted school funding reforms, state spending on public schools increased $14.244 billion or 110.0 percent from 2009–11 to 2019–21. Over the same period, all other state spending increased by just 52.0 percent. In addition to increasing spending, the Legislature increased the state property […]

Years of increased spending on K–12 are showing up in the national rankings

In response to the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision, the Legislature increased state spending on public schools by 110.0 percent from 2009–11 to 2019–21. (Spending on all other programs increased by just 52.0 percent.) The increases in state spending have translated into higher per-pupil spending by school districts. The chart shows K–12 spending per FTE […]

OFM allocates Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund to higher education institutions

In addition to the Coronavirus Relief Fund, the CARES Act provided relief funds for higher education and K–12 schools. Washington’s allocations are: $216.9 million for elementary and secondary schools. Of, that districts received $195.2 million. The rest went to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Earlier this month, the Office of Financial Management […]

What happens to pupil transportation funding when no one’s riding the bus?

Typically, pupil transportation is funded based on the previous year’s ridership (RCW 28A.160.190). But with schools closed in Washington earlier this year—and many continuing with remote learning this fall—students haven’t been riding the bus. Yesterday, Gov. Inslee issued a proclamation that allows school districts to use their transportation funding allocations to pay bus drivers to […]

Could the state cut basic education funding?

The state revenue shortfall will force the state Legislature to make many difficult budgetary decisions. Given that, and that remote learning will seemingly be the norm for schools this fall, I’ve been thinking a lot about the protected nature of basic education funding. In 2019–21, state appropriations for public schools total $27.251 billion from funds […]

Education funding in downturns

In a pair of stories earlier this week, the Seattle Times looks at the prospects for education funding during the downturn. They are both good discussions of the funding challenges in store for higher education and K–12. First, Katherine Long writes about higher education: Washington’s public colleges and universities are bracing for a money crisis […]

CARES Act funds for Washington’s school districts

The CARES Act (one of the federal relief bills) included a $30.75 billion education stabilization fund. Of that, Washington received $216.9 million for elementary and secondary schools. Districts will receive $195.2 million of that allocation. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has announced how much will go to each school district, based on an […]

Washington’s public higher education institutions and their students will receive $185.3 million from federal aid bill

The third federal aid bill included $14.2 billion for a higher education emergency relief fund, for needs related to coronavirus. The U.S. Department of Education announced yesterday how $12.5 billion of that will be distributed. Of the allocation amounts, half must be used for financial aid grants to students. Department of Education Secretary DeVos said, […]