Washington's funding for basic education is anything but "ample"

In the state of Washington, we face a serious and growing public-school-funding crisis. Educational needs are growing exponentially as we attempt to prepare our students for global competition. At the same time, public schools have increasingly become the repository of society's economic and social problems, which school districts are expected to resolve.

Within this context, our Washington Constitution holds the state responsible for the "ample provision" of basic education, yet the state has fallen short. Litigation against the state over inadequate funding of our K-12 schools is awaiting a court hearing.

As background, K-12 education is funded through tax revenues from the state, local levies and the federal government. The breakdowns vary slightly, but in Bellevue, for example, the division is: 61 percent, 32 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

In the l970s, following a landmark court case in which Thurston County Superior Court Judge Robert Doran directed full funding of basic education, the state's contributions rose to 84 percent. However, over time and with rising costs, that state commitment has eroded, causing increasing reliance on levies.

This local reliance is problematic because district financing through local levies is highly restricted by the state. The Legislature places a lid — between 24 and 34 percent of funding — on what districts can ask of local communities, even if a community is willing to pay more.

While comparisons can be tricky, research shows how the state of Washington compares to other states in school funding. Here are three crucial areas:

• Washington ranks 42nd in per-pupil funding. Our state contributes approximately $6,000 per pupil for basic education. With added local levy money, the average rises to $6,985. The national average is $8,041. State averages range from $5,000 to $11,000.

• Our state student-teacher ratio ranks 47th. Washington's ratio is 19 to 1, while the national average is 15 to 1. These ratios include all certificated staff, including librarians, art, music and physical-education teachers, and other school specialists. Thus, class sizes are much higher than the ratios given.

• Washington ranks 31st in teacher salaries. With cost-of-living adjustments, the average teacher salary in the United States is $48,954. In Washington, it is $44,082. Other states range from $34,040 to $58,456. This make it difficult to attract and retain quality teachers, especially in math and science.

Our unique, statewide salary schedule complicates the issue. A teacher in rural Washington earns the same salary as one in Seattle. Many districts in higher cost-of-living areas have found it necessary to try to supplement teacher incomes, but since we are actually prohibited by the state from increasing basic salaries, we must add work days or extra projects or training and pay teachers for those extensions.

When local levies originally were created, they were meant solely for enrichment programs that local communities wanted to support. But as the state abdicated its "ample" funding role, the levies were used more and more for basic education needs.

In Bellevue, for example, we pay $1.3 million locally, each year, for bus transportation to cover the gap left by the state's failure to better cover these expenses.

Our special-education costs exceed the $4,700 per child provided by the state. We, as well as other districts, have growing numbers of children with autism or severe behavioral disabilities. Teaching and providing for these students can cost between $25,000 and $100,000 per pupil per year. Bellevue's local funding amounts to $3 million annually.

Almost all districts offer a six-period day for high schools. The state pays for only five. That sixth class is essential for electives such as art, music, foreign-language instruction, computer programming and vocational classes, as well as for the remedial and advanced classes necessary to meet individual student needs. For our district, that additional offering costs $2.5 million a year. Many districts, including Bellevue, offer this sixth period in middle school as well.

There has been an increase in the numbers of non-English-speaking students and the number of languages they speak (at last count, Bellevue schools had 66 different languages). This requires more specialized classroom support to help students learn appropriate English while also learning academic content. In Bellevue, this requires a $1.7 million local expenditure each year.

There also has been a huge increase in the cost of supplies. High-school textbooks that used to cost $10 now cost $100. One new set of biology textbooks for our ninth-graders costs $100,000.

There are numerous unfunded mandates from the state and federal government. For instance, districts are required to provide transportation for homeless children. It costs us $60,000 for one year.

Recognizing the importance of early intervention for academic success, many districts are offering full-day kindergarten, especially to our most needy kids. While many families pay tuition, the most vulnerable cannot. Enrolling all of Bellevue's kindergartners who most need this instruction costs $750,000 locally each year.

Our yearly expenses for instructional technology and computers are $6 million from local funding. We pay another $1 million annually in software upgrades, licensing and tech support.

There also is a gap in the funding of new buildings or ongoing maintenance of the ones we have. Out of $47 million this year in construction expenses, local levies and/or bonds accounted for approximately $44 million in Bellevue. Bellevue has the advantage of a strong business and community tax base — and support — but many districts struggle with paying for ongoing maintenance or remodeling.

The state funding policy is confusing. A district can ask the community for tax approval — through bonds and levies — of any money needed for construction or technology. But, for the most important resources pertaining to class size, student instruction, teacher salaries and other student support, the state places an absolute restriction on any funds beyond the limits it sets.

Moreover, in order to get voter approval, the districts must win a 60-percent majority for levies and bonds. Many school levies receive a 55-percent yes vote, a majority, yet fail.

To add to the complexity, the Legislature grandfathered some districts in at higher salaries 30 years ago, while others are allowed a higher levy lid, while still others have stronger tax bases and lower tax rates. That all spells inequity.

Against this backdrop, schools are facing a changing world as well, one that is more diverse and demanding. In the 1950s, only about 50 percent of children graduated from high school. There were extensive job opportunities on assembly lines, in logging, in farming and in other fields, where those who dropped out of high school could still earn a living.

Today, in our state especially, those opportunities have severely declined. With global competition and today's knowledge-based economy, our state's and country's future is, more than ever, dependent on schools producing better educated students. We can no longer afford the high-school dropout — or graduates unprepared for work.

Meanwhile, our society is delivering more children at risk and in need of greater learning resources. They include children with special learning needs; students for whom English is a second language; children in poverty or who come from dysfunctional families; and more. Kindergarten teachers in Washington responded in a survey that fewer than half the children today are entering kindergarten adequately prepared to learn.

I've cited Bellevue in a number of instances because those are the budget figures I have access to. But the school-funding dilemma affects all districts throughout the state, some more profoundly than others. Though our tax bases and demographics may vary, the consequences of inadequate state funding are the same — painful.

Consider also the reality beneath some of the signs of success on the surface. It is true that some districts, such as ours, have received positive media coverage for student achievement; or are perceived as well-off economically.

Yet, even with private and foundation money, our per-pupil funding in Bellevue is below the national average, in a very high-cost-of-living area. Our teacher turnover rate is 50 percent in the first five years of being hired. Teachers simply can't make ends meet. While a noticeable percentage of our students are actually taking college-level mathematics now, 30 percent of our 10th-graders are failing the math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. Though we have reduced our dropout rate by half, 10 percent of our students still are not graduating. We have some schools where English is the second language for more than 50 percent of the students, and a number of schools where more than 40 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

While we are proud of our accomplishments, we are obligated to meet the needs of all of our students, as is every other district in the state, and that is difficult to do with class sizes of 32 students. Those who are struggling, speak a first language other than English, have special needs, or have come late into the system — they need more support services, tutorials, extended classroom time, summer school.

As we push the graduation expectations for students and prepare them for an increasingly complex world of work and learning, it is necessary to seriously look at funding.

The Washington Learns Commission predicts we face an annual $1.2 billion shortfall between what is needed and how much the state is funding. A Republican legislator recently said that the state underfunds special education by $300 million to $500 million a year and school transportation by $92 million to $114 million annually.

We must begin to resolve these financial gaps. It is vital to our future, and can only happen over an extended period of time with thoughtful minds working together.

The governor and Legislature are beginning to address the funding issue. And legal action is still pending, in the hopes that our courts will demand, once again, that the state meet its "paramount duty" of financing Washington's public schools.

There is much at stake for all of us.

Judy Bushnell is president of the Bellevue School Board.