Sue!

I’ve been reading about the lawsuit that the Federal Way Public Schools have filed against the state regarding school funding. I’ll freely admit that I don’t really understand the way the funding system works; my principal tells me that we have $X in the building budget, I nod thoughtfully, and that’s the end of it.

What is easy to see is that Washington is headed towards a big budget showdown the way that New York, New Jersey, Kansas, and many other states have. Whether you look at the WSSDA’s Ample Funding Project, the WEA’s Take the Lead project, or Governor Gregoire’s Washington Learns project it’s clear that the movement to put more money into the schools is reaching critical mass.

As to Federal Way’s initiative, it looks good on paper. The problem of the state funding raises only for those employees covered under the basic ed allocation is a very real one that came up the last time we negotiated a contract in my district, because it forces the district to cover the raise, the health care, the carve-out, and the associated retirement expenses out of district funds, which adds up in a hurry.

The links below will give you more information. It’s not expected that they’ll be able to get into the courtroom until 2008.

Lawsuit Homepage from the Federal Way SD
Seattle Times article
News-Tribune article
Commentary in the Seattle Times
Ken Schram