What the Bellevue Teachers’ Strike Teaches Us

Part 1 of a series on Education Funding in Washington

By Kelly Munn, SHS PTSA Legislative Chair

The Bellevue Teachers Strike provided a reminder about how education is funded in this state. All school districts in Washington get funding from three sources: the state, the federal government and local levies. The amount each source contributes is formula driven, based on factors such as student enrollment, state mandated salary schedules, poverty levels, and legally imposed local levy lids that have not changed in 30 years.

Teacher salaries come mostly from state dollars and some local levy dollars. When a strike occurs, there is no more money to draw on to address the demands of striking teachers. The state can’t pay more since its funding is all formula driven and based on enrollment; the federal government can’t pay more since it’s funding is largely based on the percentage of kids who are below the poverty line; and we can’t raise more in local taxes, because we already raise as much as we’re allowed to. Districts find the money to address the financial demands of a strike by cutting back on existing programs.

A common myth is that as your property assessments rise, your school taxes increase, and the school district gets lots more money. This isn’t true. When your school district asks you to vote to support a levy, the levy is a fixed amount of money. That fixed amount is how much your school district collects, independent of the assessed value of your house.

Bottom Line: we are in an education funding crisis, and slowing enrollments in our district plus increasing costs mean the funding challenges will only get worse. There is no extra money to pay staff the salaries they need and deserve, or pay for rising fuel costs or the costs associated with ever-increasing educational expectations from the community.

But there is reason to be hopeful. Stay tuned for the next installment of the Education Funding Crisis next month.

If you’d like to stay in the loop about what’s going on in education funding, contact the PTSA’s Legislative Chair, Kelly Munn.