Let the majority decide school-funding measures

Washington voters have a chance to give the majority the final say about school-levy elections this fall. A vote for the proposed constitutional amendment (EHJR 4204) will allow the majority to rule decisions about local schools.

Many have already made the choice to support majority rule for levy elections, including the League of Women Voters, D.A. Davidson & Company, the Renton Chamber of Commerce and the Washington State Labor Council. As a member of the Washington Realtors, I have watched my own organization struggle with this issue for many years. Recently, the Washington Realtors voted to endorse the amendment.

Why? Because, right now, a levy election fails unless it receives 60 percent of votes. In other words, those in the minority often win. Sixty percent is still not enough to win unless the election draws at least 40 percent of the number of voters who participated in the most-recent general election.

The simple-majority amendment, which is on the ballot for the November general election, supports a foundational value of American democracy — a value that says in school-levy elections, just like other elections, the majority rules. Fifty percent plus one wins. It is how we choose our leaders and make important public-policy decisions. Public education deserves no less a fair and democratic process.

Washington Realtors are supporting the amendment because few public-policy decisions are more fundamental to the health and well-being of our communities than those gov-erning funding for education. We know that schools are the heart of our communities.

Local schools are often the first thing our homebuyers ask about, whether or not they have school-aged children. No community can truly claim to be healthy and prosperous without good schools. Perhaps that is why Washington's constitution names public education as the state's paramount duty.

Despite the importance of local schools, we allow their fate to be governed by minority vote. Citizens who do not vote often may wield more influence about school-funding decisions than those who do vote. In order to be valid, levy elections have to draw 40 percent of the people who voted in the last general election. Because voter turnout for general elections is usually far greater than for local elections, one of the most effective ways to defeat a school levy has been by doing nothing at all.

The supermajority requirement became law in 1944, a time when some voters worried that off-year elections could occur without their knowledge and they might not have a say. Much has changed during the past 63 years, including the way elections are conducted. It is now virtually impossible for a registered voter to not know about an election.

Mail-in ballots have become the standard for all elections in 34 of Washington's 39 counties. School districts and community newspapers do a good job getting out information about how levy funds are used, and when the election will be held. Unless you stop opening your mail, it is hard not to know that a school election is scheduled.

Many other aspects of the school day have changed since 1944. Most high schools currently have a six-period day, with the state paying only for five. School levies pay for the additional time students need for many graduation requirements added since 1944, such as health and fitness, visual or performing arts, and occupational education, as well as a culminating project and a high-school-and-beyond plan.

Levies also help pay for transporting students to and from schools. Local levies also pay the underfunded costs for special education, which total more than $60 million statewide.

School levies deserve the same democratic process we accord other important decisions. It is time to stop spending precious school dollars rerunning levy elections that miss the super-high, supermajority threshold.

EHJR 4204 places decisions about local school funding where they belong: in the hands of the majority.