Washington State School Funding

The McCleary Decision centered around a lawsuit in Washington State in which the Supreme Court ruled that the legislature was not adequately funding public education. The lawsuit began in 2007 when two families, the McClearys and the Venemars filed alleging that the state was not living up to its Constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. Until this point, Washington State public funding relied heavily on local levies. This resulted in educational inequalities between rich and impoverished areas. In 2012, the court sided with the families, and stated that the State needed to fully fund schools, “considerably more than adequate,” before it funds any other programs. This decision made it so state funding for basic education could not be cut due to budget reasons.

To comply with this ruling, the Quality Education Council created a three-phase plan to have schools funded by 2018. This plan addressed all areas of k-12 education. Phase 1 came in 2013 and included the funding of transportation, full-day kindergarten, and smaller classroom sizes for k-3rd grade. Phase 2 was released in 2015 and called for fully funding the salaries of current educational staff. At this point, the court still found this plan inadequate and fined the state $100,000 a day. The final phase funded enhanced levels of education staff and enhanced salaries. In this final phase, Governor Inslee released the full proposal which included $3.6 billion in new funding for schools.

I was not in education when this groundbreaking decision came through, but I saw its immediate impact. All around me school districts were replacing their 70+ year old buildings with newly available funds. I live in a title 1 area where every public school within 45 minutes has free lunch and breakfast. At least four cities built new high schools that could finally handle internet technology properly. This was huge for our area. I imagine educators were lobbying for this for years, and finally seeing the results had to have been satisfying.

Understanding the sources and allocation of educational funding is important as a teacher. I can use this knowledge to leverage financial support for my classroom. Teachers may not always have access to district money but awareness provides a starting point for negotiation. I could advocate for field trip transportation funds, professional development, extra student programs, or even things as simple as snacks. This will be important as I work in high-needs classrooms to ensure that they have access to enriching resources. I am committed to staying informed about education finances to fully support my classes.