State superintendent calls for tax hikes to fully fund education

The state schools superintendent is proposing tax increases to raise billions of dollars for education.

The proposed legislation comes on the same day that the state Supreme Court told lawmakers they are “not on target” to meet court-mandated funding for basic education by the 2017-18 school year. The high court is ordering lawmakers to submit a complete plan by the end of April to detail how the state will meet the constitutional requirement.

Schools Superintendent Randy Dorn is proposing a one-cent increase in the sales tax and an increase in property tax funding for education to raise $7.5 billion. Dorn calls his funding measure a blunt but necessary method to spur the legislature into action. He says instead of getting on the road to full funding, the legislature is “still idling in the driveway.”

At a pre-session legislative forum Thursday in Olympia, most of the talk was about transportation.

“You know, the legislature has been meeting for 18 months on the transportation package and everybody’s agreed that it’s got to be about $10-12 billion,” said Dorn. “Well heck, I’m only asking for $7.5 billion and it’s the paramount duty of the state.” Dorn wants lawmakers to remember their priorities. “I hope legislators work as hard and put in as much time on funding education as they are on transportation right now.”

In a ruling known as the McCleary decision, the Supreme Court in 2012 ordered the state legislature to fully fund basic education after a lawsuit brought by a coalition of school districts, parents and education groups. The Supreme Court ordered the legislature to make yearly progress reports on its efforts.

Governor Jay Inslee issued a statement Thursday saying he shares the court’s concern about the pace of progress.

“As I discussed when releasing my 2014 supplemental budget, the state will need an estimated $5 billion over the next two biennia to fully implement the Legislature’s McCleary response, keep up with enrollment increases, and provide teacher COLAs.”

“I fully expect we’ll continue our vigorous discussion about closing tax loopholes and other sustainable strategies to fund our children’s education. As I said last month, we cannot — and will not — meet all these needs and obligations by cutting services to vulnerable children and adults, higher education and communities,” Dorn said in a statement.

“The time for debate regarding what constitutes basic education is in the past. The time for full funding is now,” said the governor.