On Feb. 4, King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick issued a historic ruling. Judge Erlick ruled that the state is failing to fulfill its constitutional duty to fully fund a basic education for all children. He further ordered the Legislature to determine the actual costs of providing that basic education and to take the necessary steps to pay for it.
Five days later on Feb. 9, the Northshore community generously passed three school measures — a renewal operating levy, which continues funding 20 percent of our budget; a renewal technology levy, which continues funding classroom technology for students and teachers; and a capital bond, which provides safe and updated classrooms and schools.
Given those two events, it would be reasonable to assume that the Northshore School District’s funding issues are solved. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
As of the first week of April, the Legislature remains in an extended session without agreement on a budget. All of the funding proposals for K-12 education being debated in Olympia would impose further multi-million-dollar cuts for Northshore. Since the state provides 65 percent of our funding, decisions in Olympia directly impact the educational program we can provide to our students. Despite the continued local support by the Northshore community for quality schools, local levy funding simply cannot make up for continued cuts in state funding. Last year, we implemented a painful $7.1 million budget reduction plan. This year, we face a budget reduction that may be as high as $4.3 million. There are no easy solutions or options.
One option the Legislature created is a new law allowing communities to increase the amount of local levy support for their schools. This new law would enable Northshore voters to approve a supplemental levy that would increase our local operating levy by 4 percent to help offset statewide funding cuts. It is estimated that this could provide the district with up to $12 million additional local levy funding over the next four years, depending upon state and federal funding levels. This supplemental levy would be used to sustain— not enhance — the district’s educational program.
The Northshore School Board will hold three budget workshops April 20, 21 and 22 to gather community feedback on budget reduction recommendations, district priorities, and the new law allowing greater local levy support for schools. An online survey will also be available through the end of April for those unable to attend the budget workshops.
We encourage you to learn more about the district’s budget and provide your input on these important decisions. Please visit our Web site at www.nsd.org for more information.
Larry Francois is the Northshore School District superintendent.
