Members of the Basic Education Finance Joint Task Force met recently at Sammammish High to discuss their proposal for improving the public school system.
The presenters included three local legislators, Rep. Ross Hunter, Rep. Fred Jarrett, and Sen. Rodney Tom, all of whom are part of the task force.
Gov. Gregoire commissioned the group last year to define basic education and develop a formula for financing it.
The move came after several school districts, including Bellevue, filed a lawsuit claiming that the state was failing to fully fund public education.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee denied that claim, but threw out a state limit on the number of special-needs students they can claim.
Additional basic-education funding proposals are expected from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Basic Education Finance Chairman Dan Grimm, the League of Education Voters, and the Full Funding Coalition, which is mainly comprised of educators.
State legislators eventually will pick from all five plans to come up with an overall strategy.
The Basic Education Join Task Force has proposed that the state should have four prototype schools that determine how schools operate. Each model would represent different grade levels.
Schools would have the flexibility to determine exactly what programs to implement in order to meet their varying needs.
“We don’t think Yakima and Bellevue are the same, and they’re not going to make the same decisions,” Hunter said. “Providing local districts with some flexibility we think is important.”
The task-force recommended a set of guidelines to determine matters such as the number of student periods, class size, professional-development days, and nurses.
The team didn’t put finite numbers in these templates, instead leaving that work to the Legislature.
The task force proposal outlines several principles that would help defining basic education in the future. They include:
• Providing adequate resources to meet graduation requirements
• Transparency with spending decisions,
• Accountability
• Addressing the achievement between economic groups.
Some of the more contentious proposals included calls for eliminating the “grandfathering” rules that allow disparity between districts in teacher compensation and levy lids.
Bellevue schools benefit from these exceptions, which have allowed them to pay their teachers higher-than-average salaries and collect more levy dollars than the state maximum allows.
The task force suggested raising Washington’s 24-percent levy limit, but capping it at 30 percent across the board.
Another topic that stirred controversy was accountability and what it would entail.
“If teachers don’t agree to the accountability piece, the law will be destructive,” said Tyee Middle School science teacher Paul Hopp. “Teachers will dig in their heels, and it will be very destructive.”
Teachers also expressed concern about schools having to pay for unfunded government mandates.
The task force plan suggests dedicating 50 percent of the state’s general fund to education, which would help ease that burden.
Other proposals included the creation of a statewide data-collection system, additional instructional time for struggling students, and competitive teacher wages that would increase with demonstrated competency.
The task force suggested it would take six years for legislators to reach a consensus on all aspects of a plan and implement the final strategy.
“This is not going to be an easy lift,” Tom said. “I think we have a solid proposal, but it’s going to take everybody getting together and deciding that education is the number-one priority in this state.”
Bellevue teachers union president Michelle Miller said educators will need to be involved every step of the way to protect their interests, including their collective bargaining rights.
“We agree the system needs fixing,” she said. “We want to make sure we have a voice in the solution.”
Joshua Adam Hicks can be reached at jhicks@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-4290.
