Across the globe, student performance on traditional assessments in math and reading have been declining for nearly 20 years — and recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment exam continue this trend.
Washington students are outperforming their peers across the country in reading and math, but that is at risk. By eighth grade, students in only four states statistically outperform Washington students in reading, but 14 states now outperform us in eighth grade math. We have work to do.
Kindergarten through 12th-grade education is the state’s constitutional “paramount duty”; an obligation that is supposed to come before all others. However, in recent years, the state’s investment, while increasing in nominal dollars, has not kept pace with inflation or the needs of students.
Each year, school districts now spend nearly $800 million of their local and federal funds on services that are required to be funded by the state Legislature. For this reason, 11 school districts are receiving state financial oversight (which used to be rare) with dozens more on the brink.
School district leaders statewide are doing all they can to avoid state intervention: laying off staff, increasing class sizes, reducing programs for students and some are even considering closing school buildings. Districts are doing what they need to do to keep their budgets in balance, but onetime fixes are not sustainable.
When the basics aren’t amply funded, districts are forced to divert other resources, like local levy funds that are approved by the community to support innovation and well-rounded learning, to cover the gaps. Those flexible resources are supposed to complement student learning with smaller classes, additional tutoring opportunities, more career and college counseling, competitive salary enhancements in challenging local labor markets, and other evidence-based strategies.
As state funding for the basics continues to dwindle, it is becoming increasingly less likely that Washington students will maintain their place as top performers nationally.
State law (RCW 28A.150.260) requires the governor to review the education funding formula every other year and submit necessary changes to the Legislature to ensure schools are amply funded. Unfortunately, this critical step hasn’t been happening.
The Legislature often compounds the problem by adding new requirements for schools (generally without the needed funding), and for years now, they have prioritized investments in other areas of the state budget while basic education continues to lose ground as a share of the budget and when it comes to inflation-adjusted funding per student.
Our state’s history shows that the only recourse students, families, educators and communities have when state leaders are not investing in public education is to take it to the courts. Washington state has been through two large lawsuits over basic education funding in the last 45 years, the most recent of which concluded less than 10 years ago.
The governor and Legislature can address these gaps today. Yes, they are facing a challenging budget situation, and yes, they would need to make reductions in other state services to fill the holes in education, but that is what the state Constitution compels them to do, consistent with their oaths of office.
Not only is it their legal responsibility, it’s also impactful prioritization. Strong education systems yield dividends for decades: As adults, these former students depend less on public assistance, experience less criminal justice intervention, have better health outcomes, and contribute more in taxes by earning higher salaries.
The situation for our publicly funded schools, including colleges and universities, continues to grow more dire. When basic education is not amply funded, when inflation is not adequately addressed by the Legislature, and when additional responsibilities outside of basic education are placed upon school districts without the necessary funding, students are harmed and our future is compromised.
I’ve put forward a request to state lawmakers that restores public education as Washington’s paramount duty while recognizing the state’s current financial outlook by phasing in necessary investments over the next four years.
I encourage voters to contact elected officials and candidates to ask whether they are committed to fully funding our schools consistent with our state Constitution.
