Don’t lift local-levy caps
Published 4:01 pm Saturday, February 27, 2010
With the ink barely dry on yet another court ruling that Washington isn’t adequately providing for the education of its children, the Legislature appears poised to make part of the problem worse.
A proposal that has passed the House and is now in the Senate would allow local school districts to ask their voters for more levy money, raising current caps by four percentage points — to 28 percent or more of total funding. In a tough budget year, that would help mitigate state cuts to K-12 education. But it would do so in a way that unfairly favors students in wealthier districts over kids in poorer ones.
Because local school taxes are levied on property, SHB 2893 would exacerbate the existing funding gap between land-rich and land-poor districts. Homeowners in richer districts end up paying substantially less than their counterparts in more rural districts, largely because high-value commercial properties pick up more of the tax burden. Wealthier districts thus have an easier time getting levies approved, which explains their support for this measure.
Recognizing this fundamental inequity, the state pays poorer districts “levy equalization” money to make up some of the difference. SHB 2893, however, only increases those payments by two percentage points, from 12 to 14 percent, widening the gap between rich and poor districts. Still, that increase is projected to cost the state an additional $250 million through 2015.
Educational success isn’t about money alone, but dollars do matter. Some districts currently spend $1,000 more per student on instruction than some other districts, and studies have shown a direct correlation between funding and test scores. Districts aren’t funded equally, which means children aren’t getting equal educational opportunities across the state — a clear violation of the state’s most important constitutional responsibility.
In a recent letter to Senate education committee chairwoman Rosemary McAuliffe (D-Bothell), Marysville School District Superintendent Larry Nyland pointed out that the state has begun identifying schools in the bottom 5 percent based on test scores — a new federal requirement under the No Child Left Behind act that launches a series of dramatic overhaul steps. It’s no surprise that such schools will tend to come from poorer districts. On Friday, it was announced that Marysville’s Tulalip Elementary and Totem Middle School had landed on that bottom 5 percent list.
This month’s Superior Court ruling that the state is falling short on education funding only confirmed the obvious. The judge directed lawmakers to decide what basic education costs, then to fund it.
Basic education means equal-opportunity education. Widening the opportunity gap now, out of political expediency, suggests state leaders remain unable or unwilling to address their paramount constitutional duty.
