Blog

The Washington student loan program design is still not complete, and the Legislature continues to repurpose its funding

The historically large 2022 supplemental operating budget included $150.0 million in seed money for a new, low-interest student loan program. The program was established by E2SHB 1736 (also enacted in 2022), but the bill left the details to be worked out by the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC). In early 2023, a WSAC report raised […]

Education funding bills on the move: special education, paraeducators, operating costs, and capital spending

Gov. Inslee’s operating budget proposal includes three major education funding proposals: Additionally, his capital budget proposal would increase the construction cost allocation that is part of the SCAP funding formula from $272 per square foot to $350. The Legislature is moving several education funding bills but is not exactly following the governor’s lead. For example, […]

In Gov. Inslee’s capital budget proposal, capital gains tax revenues would largely supplant current capital funding for schools

Gov. Inslee’s 2024 supplemental capital budget proposal would increase capital appropriations by $1.321 billion (15.3%). Revised 2023–25 capital appropriations would total $9.982 billion. About 80% of the increase comes from new revenues from the capital gains tax and carbon allowance auction proceeds. Any capital gains tax revenues that exceed $500 million in a year are […]

Higher education capital budget requests come mainly from UW and the community and technical college system

The community and technical college system (CTCS) and five of the six public four-year higher education institutions have made capital budget requests for the 2024 supplemental. (Washington State University has not requested anything for the capital budget.) Altogether, the higher education institutions are requesting $199.7 million in 2023–25 and $288.2 million in future years. Of […]

OSPI’s supplemental capital budget request would use capital gains tax revenues to increase school construction funding formulas and for small district modernization grants

The 2024 supplemental capital budget request from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) would increase capital appropriations for the agency by $202.2 million for 2023–25, and estimated appropriations through 2031–33 would increase by a total of $5.858 billion. The 2023–25 amount is 10.8% of total capital budget requests statewide and the ten-year […]

Public school enrollment and the school-aged population are expected to continue to decrease for the next several years (and other notes from the caseload and population forecasts)

Last week, the Caseload Forecast Council (CFC) adopted the November caseload forecast. The caseload forecast helps to determine the maintenance level (the cost of continuing current services, adjusted for enrollment and inflation) for the state operating budget. This particular forecast will be used in the governor’s 2024 supplemental budget proposal. (The Legislature will base its […]

Higher education supplemental budget requests include $19 million for WSU to purchase required carbon allowances

Agencies in the higher education budget area (the four-year institutions, the community and technical college system, and the Student Achievement Council) have requested a total increase of $164.0 million from the general fund–state (GFS) for the 2024 supplemental operating budget. (The requested increase from all funds is $179.4 million.) As I wrote yesterday, $100.0 million […]

K–12 supplemental budget request would increase paraeducator salaries, provide school meals at no cost to students, and repeal the 15% cap on state funding for special education

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has requested a general fund–state (GFS) increase of $349.7 million for its 2024 supplemental operating budget. This would be a 1.2% increase over the enacted 2023–25 budget. If appropriated, the changes would increase spending by $708.5 million in 2025–27. The biggest bow wave in the request is […]

State Supreme Court: school capital construction costs are not the sole responsibility of the state

The state Supreme Court has ruled that “school capital construction costs are not a component of the ‘education’ that the State, alone, must amply fund” under the state constitution. Wahkiakum School District had sued the state in 2021. The district argued that the state wasn’t amply funding school construction and instead relied on local levies, […]

School finance charts: enrollment, revenues, share of state budget

In June, the Seattle Times held a webinar on school finance. It prompted me to put together some education finance charts with background data. First, T.J. Kelly of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction noted that school enrollment has declined since the pandemic. Indeed, there was a substantial drop in school year (SY) 2020–21. […]