OLYMPIA — Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal on Wednesday moved swiftly to remove his office from a lawsuit against several school districts, including Everett, for using local property tax levies to pay teacher salaries and other expenses of basic education.
Reykdal said he directed his department’s lawyers to “take immediate steps” to get the agency dismissed from the lawsuit filed by his predecessor, Randy Dorn. Reykdal announced the action shortly after he was sworn in as Washington’s new public schools chief, fulfilling a promise he made during the campaign.
“I want to thank former State Superintendent Randy Dorn for his tireless efforts to draw widespread attention to our education funding crisis,” Reykdal said in a statement. “Under my leadership, however, our state’s lead education agency will not sue the very districts we are committed to supporting.”
Everett Schools Superintendent Gary Cohn called the decision “outstanding” and congratulated the new schools chief for acting so quickly to keep his campaign promise.
Dorn sued the districts in July contending it is illegal for them to spend local tax dollars on basic education. And he argued the practice, which is common in districts throughout Washington, enables the state to avoid its constitutional responsibility to amply fund Washington’s public school system as required by the Supreme Court in the McCleary case.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, names the Everett, Seattle, Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma and Puyallup school districts, as well as the Evergreen School District in Vancouver. The state also is a defendant because the use of local levies is a creation of state law.
An estimated $170,000 had been spent by parties entangled in the legal fight through the end of November, including $80,976 by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Everett School District had paid out $15,326.
While campaigning, Reykdal said he didn’t think taxpayer money should be spent on the Dorn-initiated lawsuit in addition to the McCleary lawsuit since the focal point of both is that the full costs of basic education be borne by the state.
Reykdal’s action does not end the legal fight.
Parents of children attending schools in four of the districts — Seattle, Tacoma, Puyallup and Evergreen — have obtained standing as intervening plaintiffs. Their attorney has said the parents want the case to proceed.
Reykdal urged them to reconsider and withdraw, saying their “approach is an unnecessary cost for taxpayers.”
Cohn echoed the sentiment.
“I am hopeful that those parents will soon follow with similar action and relieve us of this conflict,” he said.
King County Superior Court Judge Beth Andrus agreed last year to put the lawsuit on hold until April 30, 2017 to see if lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee resolve the levy-related concerns.
Everett School District found itself drawn into the suit because it uses local levies to help pay the highest teacher wages in Washington. At the top of the salary scale, a veteran teacher will earn $103,000 for the 2017-18 school year.
Meanwhile the top salary level for equivalent experience in dozens of other school districts hovers around $67,000 annually, according to a tally compiled by the Washington Education Association. The difference is the result of years of bargained contracts in which school boards agree to use chunks of voter-approved tax levies to pay higher wages. It also reflects the reality that some school districts are unable to pass levies or generate enough money from theirs to offer Everett-sized salaries.
The McCleary decision from the state Supreme Court directs the state to amply fund basic education by 2018 and points out that the use of local levies to cover the costs is unconstitutional.
But that decision doesn’t spell out whether it’s okay for school districts to do so when the state isn’t providing enough money for elements of basic education, such as salaries.
Dorn has said he wanted a judge to render an opinion. If it turns out he’s right, he said it would increase pressure on the lawmakers and the governor to find a remedy that ensures public schools are provided a reliable, equitable and ample source of money to operate.
On Wednesday, Reykdal offered the opposite perspective, noting the lawsuit was filed “under the apparently false presumption that local school levy dollars cannot be used to provide employee compensation.”
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.
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