Because the court’s fines do not threaten the state’s day-to-day operations, some lawmakers had said it would be better to wait until the legislature’s next regular session to complete the final elements of their work. One, co-sponsored by state Sen. One state Supreme Court justice suggested during a hearing on the McCleary case they could easily find enough money for education by eliminating all state tax exemptions, such as the special deals lawmakers have made to keep Boeing Co. happily building airplanes in Washington. He’s hoping they’ll agree on something that can be passed in a few hours once he calls a special session. However, Inslee noted that ultimately complying with the order could cost about $3 billion a biennium, which he called “an enormous sum”.
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Last Thursday, a unanimous court said the state would be sanctioned $100,000 a day, until the state comes into compliance with the court’s requirement for a full plan on education funding. Lawmakers, justices wrote last week, “must do something in the matter of compensation that will achieve full state funding of public education salaries”.
While it’s being debated whether the state Supreme Court can even impose such sanctions or where money to pay the fine would come from, it demonstrates the state’s urgency – to a point.
Gov. Jay Inslee met with legislative leaders on Monday to discuss the order and next steps.
The order focuses on K-12 education, specifically student transportation; essential materials, supplies and operating costs; adequate capital funds to ensure reduced class sizes for all-day kindergarten and elementary schools; and adequate salaries for teachers and administrators, “the heart of Washington’s education system”.
In many states, education is a local concern, paid for with local tax money and supplemented for fairness and equity with state dollars.
Postman added that calling legislators into a special session didn’t make sense until more consensus is reached on a plan that will satisfy the court.
As it is, local jurisdictions are paying for much of public education through school levies, which legislators have come to rely heavily on for additional funding that they’re not covering.
The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court in a 2012, putting in motion the wrestling match between the Legislature, governor and judicial branch.
Overall, the class size reductions and the state assumption of the basic funding responsibilities now handled, in part, by the districts could cost roughly $5 billion. The Secretary of State’s Office says that’s never happened before. That crisis resulted in the adoption of a state income tax.
“I think a lot of folks are going to have a really hard time understanding why the Legislature would sit on the sidelines and rack up a $100,000-a-day fine”, said Chris Korsmo, CEO of the Seattle-based League of Education Voters. But the fine indicates the Supreme Court’s growing frustration – delay further, and the Legislature and governor risk a crankier court.
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But all 295 school districts are different and have their own challenges, Chandler says. But it turns out that’s even less of a threat than I initially thought.
