by Dennis Box
Special to the Sounder
The Washington state Supreme Court let the hammer fall today in the McCleary education case ordering the state to pay $100,000 a day and calling for Gov. Jay Inslee to call the Legislature into special session to resolve the issue.
The order stated the “remedial penalty” of $100,000 per day begins today, Aug. 13, until the Legislature “adopts a complete plan for complying with article IX, section 1 by the 2018 school year.
The Article IX preamble in the Washington Constitution states, “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.”
The Court ruling stated the fine is to be placed into a “segregated account for the benefit of basic education.”
The Supreme Court found the state in contempt in Sept. 11, 2014, but held back sanctions until the completion of the 2015 Legislative Session.
“After the close of that session and following multiple special sessions, the State still has offered no plan for achieving full constitutional compliance by the deadline the legislature itself adopted,” the Aug. 13 Court order stated.
The Court ruled because the state has not complied with the 2012 McCleary ruling to fulfill its Constitutional obligation to fund education, “this court must take immediate action to enforce its orders.”
