‘Most kids in Washington can’t even spell Mississippi’: Jake and Spike weigh Reykdal’s push for more school money

KIRO host Jake Skorheim rejected State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s call to spend more of Washington’s budget on schools. He argued that Washington is spending far more per student than states like Mississippi and getting worse results.

“Most kids in Washington can’t even spell Mississippi,” Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Reykdal pointed to recent student achievement data showing that Washington students are still struggling, especially in math, according to KOMO News. Jake and KIRO host Spike O’Neill listened to part of his interview.

“Our biggest challenge, despite the headlines, isn’t actually reading. Though we need to make gains. It’s in math,” Reykdal said.

Reykdal noted that about 42% of the state’s general fund goes to schools and pushed for more.

“I’d like it to be 50% or more, but there’s no constitutional mandate to that,” Reykdal said.

Schools funding debate tied to millionaires tax

The discussion comes as voters decide whether to repeal Washington’s 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million in the Nov. 3 election. Supporters and opponents of I-645 recently faced off in a televised debate.

Jake took issue with warnings that repealing the tax would hurt education. He argued that the state won’t collect any revenue from it until 2029, so lawmakers are writing that money into future budgets as if the tax were guaranteed.

He also pushed back on what he sees as Reykdal’s answer to falling scores.

“He says that the way to fix this problem is, as with all things in government, the way to fix any problem is just throw more money at it,” Jake said.

Jake compared the state’s biennial budget for public schools, which he put at $13.1 billion in 2011-13, with $30.6 billion in 2023-25. He also contrasted Mississippi’s spending, which he estimated at about $12,000 per student, with about $20,000 in Washington.

Spike puts some blame on rising costs

Spike O’Neill partly agreed with Reykdal. He acknowledged the gap between spending and results.

“We have been giving more and more and more money to the education of our students, and it seems we’re getting less and less and less for our return,” Spike said.

But he noted Reykdal’s point about school districts cutting programs to pay insurance and utility bills. In Spike’s view, rising operating costs make it hard to tell how much of the extra money actually reaches classrooms.

“Can teachers do a better job? Yes. Can we be more efficient with the money we give them? Yes,” Spike said.

He argued that teachers alone shouldn’t take the blame for the decline. Jake agreed and instead blamed curriculum choices, including moving away from phonics.

“Most of your grandparents can read, even if the kids can’t,” Jake said.

Jake questions Reykdal’s motives

Jake pointed to Mississippi, which he credited with big gains after returning to basic teaching methods. He argued that Reykdal’s push for a larger share of the budget is about power.

“That makes him the most powerful person in the state,” Jake said.

Spike was more willing to give Reykdal the benefit of the doubt.

“I still do hope that the guy’s got the kids’ interest,” Spike said.

However, Spike still agreed that Mississippi is getting better results.

“Most kids in Mississippi can run circles around most kids in Washington,” Spike said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3