At an April 14 press conference, state Superintendent Randy Dorn released a plan to fully fund basic education costs, to help state legislators comply with a state Supreme Court mandate.
The state is under court order to produce a complete plan detailing how it intends to fully fund K-12 basic education without the use of local funding. Neither Gov. Jay Inslee nor the Legislature has introduced such a plan.
The superintendent’s plan calls for the state to fund an education apportionment bill passed in 2010; reduce class sizes in grades four through 12; hire more support staff; hire more teachers and build more classrooms; reform the teacher compensation system; reform the local levy system; and review and update education provisions regularly.
Dorn’s plan also includes two significant modifications to current laws regarding full funding. First, it reduces class sizes in grades four through 12, although not as much as voter-approved Initiative 1351 calls for. Second, it extends the timeline for achieving full funding from 2018 to 2021.
The lengthier timeline is designed to give more time for hiring new teachers and building more classrooms to achieve lower class sizes.
For the 2015-17 biennium, Dorn’s plan totals $2.2 billion in new spending. That total could be lowered if local levy dollars currently being used to fund basic education programs are transferred into the state’s general fund.
Read details of Dorn’s proposal at www.k12.wa.us/Communications/FullyFundPlan/default.aspx.