The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state is shirking its constitutional duty to fully fund public education.
But the court stopped short of issuing a specific remedy to the problem.
Instead, the justices said they would let the Legislature keep working until 2018 on a reform plan enacted in 2009.
They said they’d be watching to make sure lawmakers deliver as promised.
“This court intends to remain vigilant,” Justice Debra Stephens wrote for the court majority.
While the final reckoning is six years away, elected state officials quickly turned the decision to the here and now.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn thanked the court for ruling before the start of the 2012 legislative session.
Lawmakers, who begin meeting in a 60-day session next week, must close a budget gap that exceeds $1 billion. Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed asking voters to approve a temporary sales tax to offset cuts to education.
“This ruling reinforces my call for a half-penny sales tax increase to invest in education,” she said in a statement.
Rep. Bruce Dammeier of Puyallup, lead Republican on the House Education Committee, said: “There must be an understanding that all programs and services are not equal, and education is paramount.”
Senate Democrats cautioned that social services, the other main driver of spending in the budget, are also critical – and that cutting them may leave some students hungry or sick and unable to learn.
“Yes, we have to fund education, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore every other part of the budget,” Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown told reporters.
Thursday’s 7-2 ruling, in which all nine justices agreed on many points, came in a case involving a statewide coalition of school districts, teachers’ unions and others who sued the state in King County Superior Court.
The coalition initially celebrated victory in February 2010. That’s when King County Judge John Erlick ruled that the state was failing to live up to its constitutional duty.
But the state appealed to the Supreme Court, urging it to reaffirm earlier rulings that allowed the Legislature to decide how best to meet the constitutional mandate.
State Attorney General Rob McKenna said Thursday he was pleased that the court narrowed the scope of its ruling. The state had complained in court arguments that the King County ruling was overly broad. He said the Supreme Court ruling is clearer and easier to follow.
“The Superior Court ruling was so far-ranging, even making the state accountable for student outcomes,” McKenna said. “This gives much clearer guidance to the Legislature, the executive branch and the school districts.”
The coalition’s attorney Tom Ahearne said Thursday’s ruling was “much more than we expected.”
He pointed to a portion of the court ruling that says the state may not make cuts to K-12 basic education simply because of a fiscal crisis. Rather, lawmakers must show that a reduction from basic education funding is related to policy – that a program no longer serves an educational purpose, or that there’s a better program to replace an outdated one.
“This is big,” Ahearne said.
He said the ruling also demands the state fund K-12 education before any other program.
Reaction from educators Thursday was positive but cautious.
Dorn said the ruling confirms what he’s been saying for years: “Education funding is not adequate and further cuts are out of the question.”
Tacoma Superintendent Art Jarvis said he’s glad the court didn’t back away from what the constitution demands.
“I am thrilled the courts have shown that kind of courage,” he said. But he said there was similar optimism three decades ago when courts first ordered finance reforms. The solutions were never implemented, he said.
Jarvis said the court has affirmed that “education is especially sacred and must be protected.” And he said the ruling recognizes that communities such as Tacoma, with high-poverty schools, don’t have the same options as wealthier communities.
Bethel Schools Superintendent Tom Seigel said the ruling confirms what many already knew. But he said it falls short of a specific solution to the underfunding problem.
“Ideally, legislatively, there will be a remedy,” said Seigel, the head of the Spanaway-based district. “But I don’t think it will be a clear-cut remedy with the speed or resolve that is needed.”
Craig Spencer, superintendent in Sumner, said the 2009 reforms established a new school-funding model and set a goal of 2017 for full funding. But he said his suburban East Pierce County district, like many around the state, is already dependent on local funding.
“Over 28 percent of our general fund budget is funded through levy proceeds and other local dollars, such as fees,” he said.
Staff writers Peter Callaghan and Jordan Schrader and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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