Republican plan could increase school funding

OLYMPIA — Under the Senate Republicans’ new plan to fund education, many school districts will see their overall funding per student increase, but administrators are worried other provisions in the bill could negatively affect them, or not provide for some students.

SB 5067 would attempt to solve the problems created by the Washington Supreme Court’s McCleary decision by switching the funding structure the legislature uses to distribute funds to schools. The old model, which uses factors such as cost of salaries and number of students in poverty or with special needs, allots resources based on the number of students enrolled.

Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, a co-sponsor of the bill and member of the Senate Ways and Means committee, said she believes the legislature will be able to provide more funds per a student.

“From the latest (data),” Warnick said, “we’re going to be able to give more to the districts then what they’ve seen in the past.”

The new model, the Weighted Per Pupil School Funding Formula, will set a baseline of $10,000 per student and increase the amount of funding a student could receive based on needs they may have. A student who qualifies as special needs could qualify for an additional $7,500, students in transitional bilingual education an additional $1,000 and highly capable students could receive an additional $1,000.

Schools could also qualify for an additional $2,000 to $5,000 if they are in a district that is below a 30 percent poverty level. Currently, schools use the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program to measure the number of students who qualify. The bill would require schools to use estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau instead, which could change the number of schools eligible for poverty funds.

Once all the eligible funding increases are applied to students, if the average per a pupil costs is less than $12,500, the amount is increased until every pupil receives at least $12,500.

The Senate Republican staff released data on the revenue they project schools will receive per student under the new system. Of local districts, Moses Lake’s and Quincy’s funding will change the least, with increases of $460 and $440 respectively, but Othello, Wahluke and Royal school districts will all see funding changes of over $1,500. The largest increase will go to Wahluke at $1,850.

Some school administrators are concerned the $7,500 allocated for special needs would not be enough to cover the costs it takes to support students with disabilities.

Quincy School District Assistant Superintendent Nik Bergman said some students, depending on their disability, could need a full-time aide or nurse to accompany them throughout the school day, which could cost far more than the plan budgets for.

Warnick said she plans on bringing up issues constituents have brought to her, such as the concerns around the amount of funding for special needs students, to her colleagues so they can be addressed in further amendments to the bill.

Bergman said his district had not looked into the fine details of any of the plans yet. He said with several proposals still out there and with potential new costs associated with other changes in structure, it was too early to tell if the schools were really gaining or losing money.

The bill makes changes not only to the methodology of school funding, but also to the pay structure of teachers and budgeting for school staff.

Roger Trail, superintendent of Royal School District, is concerned by the increase of base salary to $45,000 for teachers combined with the 80 percent budget cap for school staff the bill calls for. He says currently the school is a few percentage points above that cap.

“If they say you can’t go over 80 percent and then raise the starting pay,” Trail said. “I have concerns.”

The bill calls for a statewide levy, which must be approved by voters in November. This tax would replace or reduce some local property tax levies, which school districts are prohibited from imposing beginning in 2019, a prohibition known as the “levy cliff.”

Warnick said even if the voters do not approve the levy referendum, she doesn’t see the conversation around the funding of the bill ending and believes it can be addressed again next session.

Moses Lake Assistant Superintendent Josh Meek said he is concerned the plans that have been presented merely change who collects the taxes, rather than focusing on the issues outlined in the McCleary opinion.

“In essence, it’s very similar to what our current funds are,” Meek said. “It looks like they are just moving funds around. In McCleary, it says the focus is on fully funding education and I don’t see how that helps.”

Senate Bill 5607 has passed through the Senate and awaits executive action in the Appropriations committee in the House.