Report: State's schools need more cash

Funding for 2004-05 said to be $3.45 billion less than adequate

By JENNIFER BYRD | The Associated Press • Published February 23, 2007

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The Washington Legislature is grossly undersupporting public schools, an independent report commissioned by the Washington Education Association has found.

The report, conducted by David Conley at the Eugene, Ore.-based Educational Policy Improvement Center, shows that spending in the 2004-05 school year fell $3.45 billion - or $3,613 per student - short of adequately paying for education for the state's approximately 1 million public school students.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said $11.9 billion of state money was spent in the 2003-05 biennium. Including local and federal money, the total amount spent on education in the 2004-05 school year was about $7.7 billion, WEA spokesman Rich Wood said.

The study said that to adequately fund schools in the state for just that year, $11.16 billion should have been spent in state, local and federal dollars.

The 2004-05 data was used because Conley started the study a year ago, before 2005-06 data was available, Wood said.

According to the report, Washington ranked 42nd in the nation in per-student spending in 2004-05. The report lays out a plan that would raise the state to seventh in the nation.

"This study, along with others that have been done ... all indicate that this state is not meeting its paramount duty" to fund public education, WEA President Charles Hasse said.

The report calls for improvements such as full-day kindergarten for all students, class-size reduction in kindergarten through third grade, additional special-education teachers, more professional development for principals and teachers, improved campus security and more counselors and social workers.

When asked about the price tag, Hasse said, "It is a big number, but we shouldn't be afraid of big numbers if we're attempting to provide quality schools in Washington."

Lynn Harsh, chief executive officer of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, said adding more money to the system wouldn't solve the problem.

"It costs money to educate children, there's no question about it," Harsh said. "But there is no concrete evidence that extra spending significantly increases academic performance.

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