There is a LOT of buzz about funding K-12 education in Washington State the last couple of years. We’ve seen the State raise property taxes to better fund schools…with over 50% of the entire state budget going to education. We’ve seen limits placed on local levy’s with a requirement to ONLY use the funds for “enrichment” programs. We’ve seen the legislature debate increasing the $1.50 levy limit to $2.50 because most of the extra funds from tax increases went to teachers and districts are now running deficits and need to lay teachers off. We now see special “capital levies” to fund technology. We see capital bonds to fund new schools and renovations/repairs. So what has all that money done … [Read more...]
Washington State K-12 Funding Debacle…and failure
So...Washington States Supreme Court held, in the McCleary decision, that the State wasn't meeting its Constitutional mandate to fully fund schools. After playing with the situation for a few years the Legislature passed a MASSIVE increase in state property taxes of almost $1/$1000 of assessed value in 2018. Property owners saw their taxes rise $500-$750-$1000-$1500 or more. The State increased school district funding but required districts to reduce their maintenance and operations levies to a max of $1.50/$1000 effective Jan 1, 2019. How much money has the State put into K-12 education over the past ~30 years? The Seattle Times (as liberal a newspaper as there is in Washington State) … [Read more...]