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Residents of Orcas are going to vote Feb. 9 on a levy that is necessary to help students in Orcas Island School District continue receiving the education they deserve, according to the district.
“If this levy were to fail, it would be devastating to the district as it would result in cuts and/or elimination of programs and faculty,” said OISD Superintendent Eric Webb.
The levy provides nearly 25 percent of the school district’s annual budget: 30 percent of teacher salaries, 90 percent of music and athletic program funding, 75 of classified staff salaries (librarians, paraeducators, clerical and maintenance staff), 65 percent of English-language learners and staff training and 25 percent of special education are all maintained by the levy.
The proposed levy will take the place of an existing school levy. The current levy is at 91 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The new levy would start in 2017 and breaks down as follows: year one, 93 cents; year two and three, 89 cents; year four, 88 cents.
“Historically, this district holds levy elections every four years for Maintenance & Operations,” said Webb. “One reason for the four-year window is the unreliability of projecting assessed values beyond a span of four years.”
Legally and constitutionally, the state is expected to fund basic education, but Washington has repeatedly neglected to do so. A lawsuit was filed by the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools in 2007 on behalf of two Washington state families with school aged children: the McClearys and the Venemas.
NEWS requested that the state of Washington abide by the constitutional requirement to fully fund basic education.
The King County Superior Court oversaw the trial, which began in 2009, and mandated that the state must “proceed with real and measurable progress to establish the actual cost of amply providing all Washington children with the education mandated… and must comply with the Constitutional mandate to provide stable and dependable funding for such costs.”
The state then appealed the court’s decision. The case of McCleary v. State of Washington, taken to The Washington State Supreme Court in 2012, determined that the state had not been fulfilling its constitutional requirement of funding basic education.
“Basic funding” includes sufficient funding to cover all students and adequate compensation of teachers.
The fruits of this decision have yet to grow to maturity. The state has been given until 2018 to fully fund basic education, and has not even begun to do so, leaving each school district to continue funding its programs.
The Washington State Supreme Court held the State in contempt in 2014 for failing to make the required progress.
In August 2015, when the state failed to demonstrate any progress toward the 2018 goal, or any plan for doing so, the Supreme Court began fining the state $100,000 a day until it complied.
“It would be absolutely wonderful if basic education were to be fully funded; however, this is yet to become a reality,” said Webb.
This year’s Washington State Legislature’s agenda includes teacher compensation, the shortage of teachers, the educational opportunity gap and school operating levies being elected state-wide. The 2016 session began Monday, Jan. 11 in Olympia.
“At this time, there are still too many unknowns regarding how basic education would be funded to know exactly how it would affect an existing levy,” said Webb regarding the possibility of the state making good on its promise. “If the state fails to fully fund basic education, we will request another levy in four years.”
He added: “This passage of this levy is paramount to the continued quality of education offered at Orcas Island School District, and we are confident that our community will show their support of our district by passing this levy. This community never ceases to amaze us with the outpouring and support they have demonstrated over the years, and their dedication to Orcas Island children.”
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