King County Judge: State schools underfunded

The state of Washington is not fulfilling its constitutional duty to fully pay for basic public education, a King County judge ruled Thursday.

The decision from Superior Court Judge John Erlick came after nearly two months of testimony last fall in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of school districts, parents, teachers and community leaders. The coalition included the Clover Park, Federal Way, Peninsula and Puyallup school districts and their teachers’ unions.

They said the state was failing its constitutional duty and leaving school districts to rely too heavily on local levies, donations and PTA fundraisers to educate students.

The state disagreed, claiming it does meet its constitutional duty.

Erlick acknowledged the state’s efforts to reform the way its pays for education and encouraged lawmakers to continue that.

But he noted in his opinion that despite years of studies and good intentions, the state has failed to meet the requirements of the Supreme Court’s Seattle School District ruling from three decades ago.

The big question now is the timeline for reform. The Legislature has committed to fix the way it pays for basic education by 2018.

The judge did not set a specific timeline, but urged the Legislature to proceed with real and measurable progress to establish the cost of basic education and find a stable way to pay for it.

South Sound educators were happy about the judge’s decision, but also cautious in their enthusiasm, knowing that the ruling could be appealed.

“We’re ecstatic about the ruling,” said Frank Hewins, superintendent of Franklin Pierce Schools in Pierce County. “What it will mean in the long term remains to be seen.”

Puyallup School District Superintendent Tony Apostle called Erlick’s decision a “long overdue win for the students in the state of Washington. Judge Erlick recognized the Legislature’s failure to redefine and fund basic education for the 21st century.”

The judge’s opinion resonates with school district leaders around the state who are asking voters to approve levies in a Tuesday election. Local levy dollars make up around 20 percent of most South Sound district budgets.

“School districts are dependent upon local communities to make up for underfunding by the state,” said Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Art Jarvis. “Local districts simply cannot sustain our programs without the local funding provided by those levies.”

Hewins said local communities do need to carry some burden for school funding. “But we shouldn’t have to subsidize the basic educational needs of the kids,” he said.

He pointed to his district’s Tuesday request for a technology levy that would raise between $1.3 million and $1.4 million a year over four years. He said the levy request illustrates the debate over just what “basic” means.

When the court ruling defining it was issued three decades ago, Hewins said, “technology wasn’t even in the mix. But now, you can ask any person, any parent if technology is part of basic education and they’ll say, ‘You bet.’ It’s part of the expectation.”

Erlick noted in his ruling that the state does not provide enough money to give every child a chance to meet the state’s essential learning requirements. Instead, the state depends on “funding formulas” that do not correlate with the actual cost to teach the state’s one million children, he wrote.

Last year, the state kicked in more than $6,600 per pupil to local districts, according to data from the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. But total per-pupil spending – which includes local, federal and other sources – is about $9,900.

“This court is convinced that basic education is not being funded by a stable and dependable source of funds provided by the state,” the judge wrote.

A lawyer for the state said he expected both sides would find something to appeal in Erlick’s decision. Assistant Attorney General Bill Clark emphasized, however, that the decision whether to appeal would be made by the attorney general, the governor and the Legislature.

Clark said he wasn’t disappointed in all of Erlick’s ruling. He was happy the judge acknowledged the reform work already being done in the Legislature.

“We’re happy that he’s letting that process continue,” Clark said.

Hewins said he believes the judge’s ruling will influence what happens in the Legislature this session.

“This has to color the manner in which they go about their business,” Hewins said.

Jarvis agreed, saying he hopes that Erlick’s ruling propels the Legislature to “move forward with immediate solutions without driving more school districts into further financial collapse.”

Much of the testimony Erlick heard focused on how much it costs to run a school district, whether the state is meeting its obligations, whether student achievement is connected to school funding, and whether the Legislature’s attempts at school reform have been adequate.

The judge’s ruling offered a moral as well as legal perspective.

“Society will ultimately pay for these students. The state will pay for their education now or society will pay for them later through unemployment, welfare or incarceration,” Erlick wrote.

Thursday’s ruling was the second big court decision involving state school funding in recent months.

In November, the state Supreme Court ruled against a coalition led by the Federal Way School District that sought to equalize funding for Washington school districts. Federal Way officials had argued that because their district gets less from the state to pay teachers and staff than some other districts, local levy money must be used to make up the difference.

Federal Way said this is unfair, but the court disagreed.

Staff writer Debbie Cafazzo contributed to this report.