State funding falls far short of paying for basic education

The gap is huge between current State funding and what it really costs to provide all Washington children with the education described in the State Essential Academic Learning Requirements. As shown in the chart below, current State funding provides just enough to cover the costs of classroom teachers and teaching materials, leaving local school districts to raise about $3 billion from local taxpayers -- money districts need to pay for essentials like technology, lab equipment, building upkeep and maintenance, school buses and fuel, lunches and cafeteria workers, principals and administrators, and other necessary expenses.

And this gap is widening in school districts across Washington. The current State budget cuts more than $1 billion dollars from K-12 education over the this biennium. Local communities simply cannot raise enough money to fill this deficit. And they cannot come close to providing the additional resources needed to provide all children with the knowledge and skills mandated in our State learning standards.

Until the State determines how much it actually costs to amply provide an education to all Washington children, the unfortunate truth is that some children -- especially poor and minority children -- will be allowed to fail. NEWS maintains that inequity isn't just wrong, it's unconstitutional.