Legislators long overdue in funding education

“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all students…” (Article IX, Section 1, Washington State Constitution).

Since 1889, children have been waiting for legislators to do their job – to amply fund education for all children.

The 1977 Duran court decision declared unconstitutional the use of local levies to fully fund basic education because that is the state’s job, not local school districts’ responsibility.

Since 1977, the state legislators have been ordered numerous times by the courts to fulfill their constitutional obligation. Each time, the legislators failed to do their paramount duty.

The most recent example of our legislators’ failure to follow the state constitution began in 2012 with the McCleary lawsuit and the court’s decision. Since 2012, on four separate occasions, our legislators have failed “to make ample provision” for education. The court requires them to provide a complete plan to fund education. That’s all – just a plan.

As usual, the state legislators just can’t figure out how to do their paramount duty, but they do not mind taking home a taxpayer-funded paycheck (with benefits) for not doing their job. How difficult can it be to do their job in four years?

As of today, our legislators are in contempt of court. Again. We know what would happen if we disobeyed a court order for even a single day.

Our state legislators are neither morally justified nor constitutionally right to continue to deny learning opportunities for all children, opportunities that would come to them were the legislators to fully pay for education, regardless of how difficult or distasteful they find the task.

State legislators, do no more harm. Do your paramount duty. The children are waiting.

Duane Pitts

Moses Lake