Leave it to a former lawmaker to recognize the inequity in the way the Legislature doles out dollars to local school districts.
King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey, who was a Democratic lawmaker from 1987 to 2000, ruled last week that Washington’s formula for paying teachers, staff and administrators creates disparities that violate the state constitution.
The ruling was a victory for the Federal Way School District, which has been fighting to get rid of a funding scheme that shorts the district millions every year. Barring a reversal by the state Supreme Court, the district’s win provides the Legislature new impetus for a long overdue overhaul.
Imagine trying to finance any enterprise based on 30-year-old assumptions. Now imagine that those assumptions were faulty from the start.
Such is the position that the state Legislature finds itself in every two years when it goes to allocate dollars to local school districts. The state’s archaic funding formula says it should cost one thing to hire a teacher in Puyallup and something else in Federal Way.
There is no practical rhyme or reason to the different funding levels. Pay is not tied to a district’s locale, size or demographics, but rather history.
The salary schedule assumes that districts are still paying their employees as they did in 1977 — the same year the state’s school funding system was declared unconstitutional for perpetuating inequities among school districts.
Heavey didn’t mince words in his assessment of funding levels. “Today’s state funding has no basis in reality and is a vestige from a discredited and unconstitutional system. It cannot stand.”
Lawmakers have admitted as much. This year, they began giving more money to districts with lower salaries as part of a plan to gradually eliminate the disparities. They have also charged a task force with looking at basic education funding.
But good intentions don’t always survive the next legislative session. Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson is asking for $130 million to further equalize salary allocations next school year. Heavey’s ruling could help ensure that lawmakers don’t get distracted by other items on their wish lists.
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