Thurston school districts need local levies to fund necessities

There is no perfect way to fund public schools. So in spite of recent big increases in state education spending to address the McCleary decision, it should surprise no one that our school funding system is still imperfect.

For instance, one feature of the expanded state funding is “regionalization” of teacher pay formulas based on the cost of living where they teach. King and Pierce county teachers make more than those in Thurston County, under that formula, and their districts get more state money for that purpose. Our local school districts worry about having higher-paying teaching jobs just up I-5, but no state funding to match those salaries.

Local districts also continue to struggle to meet the needs of students with disabilities who qualify for special education — a situation of underfunding that many legislators acknowledge.

Local school superintendents recognize that state actions have made improvements: pay for teachers and other school employees is up, class sizes in kindergarten through third grade are down, there is more funding for universal full-time kindergarten, transportation, maintenance, supplies and operating costs.

But they also report that they still need to spend far more than the state allocates for counselors and nurses. They also must find money to make up for having staffs with higher-than-average seniority, who therefore earn, on average, more than the state funding model supports.

And, of course, there are school sports and other enrichment activities. The state does not pay for Friday night lights.

The bottom line is: The Legislature didn’t intend to eliminate local school levies with the “McCleary fix.” Last year it even increased the amount districts could ask voters to OK.

So there are good reasons why we all need to vote for local school levies on Feb. 11. And in Rochester and North Thurston, there are bond measures that deserve our support as well.

All of the school ballot measures are replacements – they replace expiring levies, and are not new taxes. And this year, in every case, the levy rate – and even the combined levy and bond rates – are lower than they’ve been before. A yes vote will not raise your taxes, but it will certainly raise our children’s chances for a good education.

There will always be room to complain that the state should fund more, and levies should be less. But the existence of local levies is not a defect of our school funding system; it is a way to ensure that each community has skin in the game of commitment to the future of its children and young people.

RV parking and the state’s response

Until homelessness became a crisis, providing housing or shelter for homeless people was not the responsibility of city governments. It was mostly the work of nonprofits (many faith-based) such as the Salvation Army and the Union Gospel Mission. Financing for low-income housing to keep people from becoming homeless was the responsibility of the state and federal governments.

Clearly, that has changed.

Today, state agencies face a similar change. The state’s Department of Commerce alone was charged with housing finance and policy. Other state agencies have never included combating homelessness in their book of business. But now the state Department of Transportation must figure out what to do about the growing number of unmanaged tent camps under bridges and along freeways. And the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), which manages the Capitol Campus, must figure out what to do about RVs and trailers parked on Deschutes Parkway, which part of the campus. The State Patrol is collaborating with the city of Olympia to assist and monitor the people who live in those RVs.

DES is in the process of writing rules to guide their response to the RVs. This is a new challenge for a nuts-and-bolts agency that is more known for landscaping and replacing light bulbs.

Right now, there are about 10 RVs, so this doesn’t feel like a crisis. That’s a good thing, because DES is careful, and mindful of the need for public input in its rule-making process.

Linda Kent, the DES Public Affairs Director, acknowledged that many participants in DES listening sessions are asking about “an all-state-agency response” to homelessness.

This is good news. We hope Gov. Inslee’s cabinet is engaging state agency leaders in conversations about what each of them can do to solve what is now – finally – recognized as our state’s most pressing problem.

This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 5:45 AM.