Funding shortfalls endanger K-12 education throughout Washington | Opinion

Across the state, schools have been grappling with expenses outpacing revenue. Vancouver Public Schools has a $24 million deficit with only four days of cash on hand, while Seattle Public Schools is facing a $100 million shortfall.

These deficits are not simply a mismanagement of funds. They are a direct result of a state not paying for what people have demanded. In 2014, voters passed Initiative 1351 to decrease class sizes, and yet the state has yet to fund that mandate. The state funding model for public education has reached a reckoning.

Some school districts are twisting their budgets to retrofit the needs of schools with the current state funding. The Olympia School District (OSD) is facing an average of 11 days cash on hand, and superintendent Patrick Murphy is proposing over $7 million in cuts over the next four years to create a larger savings account.

And yet, with expenditures outpacing projected revenue, by the 2030-31 school year, OSD would need over $30 million in cuts that year alone to break even. The proposed cuts across the state are counterintuitive to public funds going directly to the good of the students they serve. If the funding model remains the same, school districts will not be able to keep pace with expenditures.

As a former school board director for OSD, I fought for wraparound services as well as improving relationships between the district and its workers. As a teacher librarian at Jefferson Middle School, I work with struggling students who shine with the support of our social workers and family liaisons. These relationships and positions are now all in jeopardy.

Restructuring education in the name of budget cuts introduces new problems. OSD is also proposing a reduction in force to make room for a new requirement of band and orchestra for all students. I’ve taught mandatory fifth grade band, and I’ve seen firsthand how forcing music instruction, rather than allowing students agency in pursuing it, takes away from the holistic education that music provides. Providing a sense of belonging and opportunities to shape their future is vital to students’ success.

Proposed cuts to food workers and custodial staff will further degrade our schools. Schools deserve better than neglecting the buildings and the students in them through cutting vital services.

Proposed cuts and loss of jobs are happening across our state’s schools. The solutions are clear: Allocate more than 50% of the state budget toward K-12 education. Fully fund Initiative 1351.

We need to come together to demand this. The Washington State School Directors’ Association, the Washington Association of School Administrators, Association of Washington School Principals, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the Washington Education Association (WEA) need to be in solidarity to push this forward in the upcoming biennium. The very well-being of our students and schools depends on it.

Justin McKaughan is a 25-year teaching veteran, having worked in Clover Park, North Thurston, Tumwater, and Olympia schools. He was elected to the Olympia School District Board of Directors in 2019 and served until September 2022.