Washington's Ample School Funding Project Implements Strategy for Reform

Since December of 2003, the Washington Ample School Funding Project, which was created by the Washington Association of School Administrators and funded through numerous education organizations in Washington, has been researching “the cost of providing to school districts the ample resources they will need to bring all students to state mandated standards by 2008.” The Project draws its name from the Washington State Constitution, which declares that “it is the paramount duty of the State to make ample provision for the education of all resident children.” The Washington Supreme Court has also said that “The Legislature must act to carry out its constitutional duty by defining and giving substantive content to ‘basic education' and a basic program of education.” (Seattle School District No. 1 v. State, 585 P.2d 71)

The Project has identified a three-step approach: “technical analysis” of the funding for the state's basic education programs; a professional judgment “adequacy study” on the cost of raising student achievement to state standards; and a campaign to gain public support for ample school funding. The first step is now complete, as five papers on the state's five basic education programs have been released.

Five Papers on Five Programs

According to Leadership Information, a publication of School Information and Research Services, the Project published papers on the basic education programs identified in state court decisions on school funding. These include general apportionment; bilingual instruction; special education; learning assistance; and transportation. According to the papers, all of these programs are funded through formulas that are not based on the actual costs of the programs, and receive funding that is insufficient instead of “ample.”

In practice, state funds are combined with local levies, which, though limited by the state following a ruling in the state's first school finance case, have crept up over the years. They now represent 24 percent of federal and state money spent on education.

Like many states, Washington has made numerous reforms to education policy in recent years, including the institution of a high-stakes assessment system, without increasing funds an appropriate amount. It is in this context that the Ample School Funding Project issued its papers.

In each of the five basic education program categories, the Project determined that the state was funding at much lower levels than actually expended by districts in order to implement the programs. This under-funding is the result of highly antiquated or illogical funding formulas, and has been exacerbated by increasing state requirements for school and student achievement. As Barbara Mertens, Assistant Executive Director of the Washington Association of School Administrators, writes in Leadership Information,

Washington courts have held that the legislature must continually review, evaluate, and revise if necessary, the educational system of the state and the program of education and its funding to meet the current needs of the children of the state. Starting in 1992, the legislature redefined the state's basic education expectations but not the basic education funding formula.

This situation has resulted in the escalating use of local levies to fund basic education programs, a practice ruled illegal by the courts. Each report illustrates the practice by the Washington legislature of appropriating funds based upon totally inadequate funding formulas, without regard to the cost to districts of providing basic education programs to their students.

Achieving Ample Funding

Hopeful signs have emerged following the Project's reports: in 2005 the Washington Legislature approved a comprehensive education finance study, to be completed by November of 2006. The study will examine the positive and negative attributes of the state's school funding system, the systems of several other states, and the constitutional requirements for education funding. The study will also determine an adequate level of funding and appropriate mechanisms for ensuring accountability and student achievement. The legislature also charged the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee to study the costs of transportation and special education. As described in the Washington Association of School Administrators' newsletter This Week in Olympia, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire promised the study would be “an unblinking and complete look at the state of our education system and it will be followed by an action plan to improve our education system.”

The Ample School Funding Project has now completed the first phase of their program, and the legislature and governor have embarked upon phase two, leaving the Project to focus its energy on phase three, developing public support for a system of ample school funding in Washington. The Project has received the endorsement of a growing list of Washington organizations, including the Washington Education Association and the League of Education Voters, and has developed a plan to launch a campaign for support of improved school funding. Outreach to families, education stakeholders, and taxpayers, will be an essential element of the Project's progress towards the reform of Washington's school finance system.

Prepared by Nelly Ward, August 4, 2005