Federal Way lawsuit fails

In a 9-0 decision, the State Supreme Court reversed a lower court's ruling and rejected the Federal Way School District's suit against the state for, among other things, failure to equitably and amply provide funding. The Washington State Constitution provides for a "general and uniform" public school system, which, in practice, is anything but. However, the Court argued that disparities have lessened, and that Federal Way is a victim of its own success, since its higher test scores (relative to lower-funded neighbors) are evidence that its funding is adequate.

Today's loss is a practical disappointment, but a legal inevitability. It remains to be seen whether a similar lawsuit in King County, to which the Olympia School District is a party, will fare any better.

strikes and lawsuits and swine flu...

...add your own "Oh my."

The school year commences in Washington state with a strike in the Kent district...

More than 1,000 striking teachers packed the picket line outside Kent School District headquarters Friday to let everyone know about their unhappiness with contract talks.

With only two days left to work out an agreement before school is supposed to start, striking teachers from every school in the Kent district showed up for the rally.

"We feel very put against the wall, painted into a corner - very disrespected that the district wasn't willing to bargain," says teacher Pat Deming.

Meanwhile, the Teamsters did a drive-by of support for the teachers' demands from the district as some teachers shouted, "Class size! Class size! Class size!"

(And read Ryan's take for some criticism of a critic; Lake Stevens is striking, too; at least Shoreline seems to have avoided the worst.)

...and a court date for the NEWS lawsuit...

Right in the middle of a recession that has created the worst atmosphere for school budgeting in decades, a coalition of Washington school districts, parents, teachers and community groups is going to court Monday to demand that the state start paying the full cost of education.

Attorneys for both sides say the economy will have little or no influence on the outcome of the non-jury trail, scheduled to begin on the first day of the school year for many district and to continue for six weeks of testimony in King County Superior Court before Judge John Erlick.

School districts have been struggling economically for decades, so while the recession makes things worse it doesn't make them different, said Mike Blair, chair of the group calling itself Network for Excellence in Washington Schools.

...and, of course, a potentially deadly flu strain.

Yay?

Olympia School District joins state lawsuit

It has approved a stopgap levy, too, but the news with statewide implications is that one of the state's leading districts has joined the legal fight to secure sufficient funding for education.

A coalition known as the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools sued the state in January, claiming that the state "has not upheld its constitutional obligation to fully fund public education for all children."

Monday's Olympia School Board vote means the Olympia district will spend $5,000 to join that lawsuit, and the Olympia Education Association — the local teachers' union — also will contribute $5,000.

"This is a potentially defining moment for education in the state of Washington," said OEA president David Johnston, who encouraged the school board to vote to join the lawsuit. "There is a fundamental crisis in education support."

This is the Board's first major action since the hotly contested election, and, hopefully, shows a glimpse of things to come: a focus on collaboration when tackling the upcoming budget crunch--and whatever else is headed our way.

board members: face the budget crisis now

Bob Shirley and Russ Lehman are proposing that the Board tackle the impending budget crunch now, instead of in the spring, The Olympian reports. I'll look at their proposals in turn.

•Eliminate up to $1 million in expenses not supported by state funds. In particular, the two board members cited student transportation as a potential area to make cuts.

This would potentially involve reducing routes for students who live within 1 mile of school. I'd suggest a tiered approach: cut service to secondary-level students who can walk to school, and thus combine elementary routes, given the freed-up seats. (Hey, maybe it could work.)

•Create a new performance- and skills-based compensation program for principals. Under the two board members' proposal, such a program should reward leadership and acquisition of knowledge and skills.

I believe it was Lehman who floated this idea when the Board was deciding on the last budget (he and Shirley, if you recall, voted against). I'm initially skeptical that this would fly with principals, who face different situations across the district and might see this solution as creating inequities in compensation.

•Create a teaching schedule that has one half-day each week devoted to teacher collaboration and skill development and one half-day each week devoted to classroom preparation. The two board members' proposal states that the district doesn't have the money to create this type of schedule now but should plan for the future.

We recently ended our D schedule collaboration days. I'm not sure anyone really misses them. The existing option for collaborative staff development could be expanded without creating another disruption to the schedule (and bus routes and parents' lives).

•Choose additional budget cuts now that will take time to implement.

Forward-thinking is a plus. I'd like to see what Shirley and Lehman recommend.

•Join the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools' lawsuit. That's the coalition of community groups, school districts, and state and local education associations that sued the state this year, claiming Washington has not upheld its constitutional obligation to fully fund public education for all children.

Lehman floated this a while ago; it's worth bringing back as the lawsuit plows ahead.

Whether starting early will help the Board make better decisions is an open question. At least, though, we can provide time for community members to have their say.

The Olympian notes:

The Olympia School Board has a study session to discuss budget process issues planned for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Knox Administrative Center, 1113 Legion Way S.E., Olympia.

The meeting is open to the public, but public testimony won't be taken.

The proposal can be read here [Word file].

a study to study the plan of the study

Is this proposal to go in-depth and compute what it'd take to fully fund education just another legislative "punt," or progress?

The group would also explore ways to provide stable and adequate financing to fully pay for basic education and report back to lawmakers with options by the beginning of next year.

The bill passed 43-5, with one senator excused. It now heads to the House, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has indicated she would sign it into law.

"It is not a study, it is a plan of action," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, chairwoman of the Senate's Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

But some Republican senators argued that developing a way to better pay for schools was the job of the 18-month-long Washington Learns study, which was co-chaired by Gregoire.

"Here we go again," said Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, as he held up a series of studies that the state has done on school financing through the years, including the Washington Learns final report.

"If you gave people two years, the power of the governor's office, what would you give them for a grade when they came back incomplete?" Schoesler said. "Why would you do this again?"

Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, said the task force was "clearly just another study" and that the Legislature was "just punting again."

"It's a step, I'm not sure if it's forward or not," Pflug said. "Frankly, I think we've been going around in circles for quite a long while."

I'm not so certain things would be any different--or any better--with Republicans in charge. For every Cheryl Pflug there's a Val Stevens.

what adequate funding could buy

Ryan puts it in perspective:

My district has about 2000 students, 600 of which attend my school. Using the Take the Lead figure would provide about $1,000,000 more for my district, while the Conley figure would mean $7 million dollars more. Conley seems pie-in-the-sky, so let’s play with the Take the Lead number. If my district received a million dollars, about $300,000 would come to my school. Here’s what I would spend that money on...

Don't stay here. Go there and find out.

Gary Davenport, living proof that WEA efforts aren't in vain

The Olympian reminds us that the anti-WEA lawsuit over agency shop fees heads to the Supreme Court for oral argument this week. Profiling Gary Davenport--who comes off as a nice, thoughtful guy, if a bit strained, calling the union "bullies"--the article notes something just a little ironic:

The former high school social studies teacher said he left teaching because his growing family needed more money than he earned as a teacher.

I seem to recall a particular union spending nearly all its political capital to change that.

in the morning paper

Two Olympia School District board members hosted a seminar about the funding lawsuit here in WA. (No mention in the article that the OSD voted not to join the lawsuit--and that Lehman, one of the two, first floated the idea, only to have it shot down.)

Meanwhile, a new revelation in the Foss shooting: the suspect may have had a history of bringing guns to school, but district officials claim they never heard about it. If true, it would go down as an utterly tragic miscommunication between the court system and the school.