WASA
News Releases
Olympia Washington 360.943.5717
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2007
CONTACT: Amy Riggs
360/943-5717
ariggs@wasa-oly.org
TIME IS NOW FOR NEW K-12 FUNDING FORMULA
State’s top education groups appeal to
Legislature for new public school funding plan
OLYMPIA–Jan. 4, 2006—Washington state
lawmakers must take action this session to create a public school
funding system that will give school districts the resources they need
to accomplish their mission of ensuring success for all students.
That’s the singular message offered by representatives from the
state’s five largest K-12 organizations at a press conference held
today in Olympia at the Association of Washington School Principals. The
groups, representing teachers and support staff, principals, school
superintendents and school board members from all over Washington state
called on legislators to fully fund the 1993 definition of basic
education this session, while also developing a new funding model that
meets the long-term needs of the system and the one million students it
serves daily.
“Washington school districts face tremendous pressure to raise
academic achievement for all students despite diminishing resources.
Although impressive gains have been made, much work remains in helping
ALL students get the skills they need to find good jobs or pursue a
post-secondary education,“ said Steve Chestnut, superintendent,
Moses Lake School District and president of the Washington Association
of School Administrators (WASA). “In the midst of progress, our
immediate challenge is to replicate improvements made in literacy in
every subject, particularly math and science. But a system already
stretched to the limit cannot achieve this goal without sufficient
additional resources.”
“Our state needs a school funding model that is based on
student needs, not subject to the strengths and weaknesses of our
economy,” said Charles Hasse, president, Washington Education
Association.
In a prepared statement released today, all five groups acknowledged
their concern that Washington Learns, the governor’s pre-K through
higher education task force, did not adequately address its main
legislative charge, namely to “develop recommendations about how
the state can best provide stable funding for student learning.”
The governor’s budget, the group agreed, was a solid first step in
the right direction.
The five organizations have agreed to focus on persuading the
Legislature to fully fund the 1993 definition of basic education within
six years, and to make significant strategic investments in class-size
reduction, base salary increases for all K-12 staff, and full-day
kindergarten statewide. At the same time, they will urge lawmakers to
develop a new K-12 funding model to replace the state's 30-year-old
finance mechanism.
“We were encouraged by Gov. Gregoire’s budget proposal
and what it could mean for public education in the new biennium.
However, given the budget pressures facing today’s schools and
districts, it is critical for legislators to take action now and find a
new formula that addresses the inadequacies and supports our
standards-based system,” said Arcella Hall, principal, Grandview
High School (Grandview School District) and president, Association of
Washington School Principals.
“The hard truth is that our K-12 finance system is obsolete
given the job we have to do,” said Longview School Board Member
Ted Thomas, president-elect of the Washington State School
Directors’ Association. “We need a funding system that is
predictable, stable and equitable, and matches resources with needs and
objectives. We need a funding system that prepares all our students for
the future.”
“Campus security, technology and student health services are
vital components of safe, modern, and healthy schools,” said Randy
Dorn, executive director of Public School Employees of Washington.
“Essential school services such as these must be included in the
definition of basic education and paid for by the state, not local
levies.”
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About the Washington State School Directors’
Association (WSSDA)
Founded in 1922, the Washington State School Directors’
Association is made up of all 1,482 school board members from Washington
state’s 296 public school districts. The districts they lead serve
more than one million students, have a combined annual budget of $6
billion and employ nearly 100,000 people. The association's mission is
to ensure that local education leaders have the skills and resources
they need to effectively govern their districts and promote student
achievement. To learn more, visit the WSSDA Web site at www.wssda.org.
About the Washington Association of School Administrators
(WASA)
The Washington Association of School Administrators is committed to
the development of quality education through professional leadership.
Members benefit from a supportive community of professional leaders
working to provide insightful and valuable training, support and
resources to education leaders, and to sustain a positive impact on
legislative and community leaders. With more than 1,600 members,
membership is open to all education administrators in central office,
building managements and educational agency positions. WASA is a not-for
profit organization that is funded by membership dues and association
events. To learn more, visit WASA’s Web site at www.wasa-oly.org.
About the Association of Washington School Principals
(AWSP)
The Association of Washington School Principals is a professional
association serving principals, assistant principals and principals in
training. Formed in 1972, the Association now includes more than 3,500
members from public and private elementary, middle and high schools
statewide. It is governed by a board of practicing principals composed
of members drawn from three grade-specific boards representing the
elementary, middle and high school levels. The mission of AWSP is to
support principals and assistant principals and the principalship in the
education of all students. For more information on the Association,
visit the AWSP Web site at www.awsp.org.
About the Washington Education Association
(WEA)
WEA is the state's largest public employee union, uniting more than
80,000 public school, college and other education employees to help give
Washington’s students the brightest future possible. WEA leaders
and staff work passionately to attract and retain great teachers and
support employees, to strengthen the profession, to shape education
policy and to provide a unified voice in support of stronger schools. To
learn more, visit www.washingtonea.org.
About Public School Employees of Washington (PSE of
WA)
Representing more than 26,000 classified school employees, PSE is the
largest and most successful classified school employee union in
Washington. PSE represents paraeducators, secretaries, technology
specialists, health aides, campus security, bus drivers, school
nutrition workers and more. PSE is affiliated with Service Employees
International Union (SEIU). For more information, visit: www.pseofwa.org.
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