Resources: Funding WA Schools - Advocacy Resources To Know

Understand the consequences of underfunded K-12 students

Resources for Advocates to Change School Funding

Informative Resources Readily Available

Advocates for public education may learn about and choose between a growing number of collaborative efforts. There are nearly as many approaches to understanding the issues as there are consequences to the problem and proposals to address them — there is a lot to learn and a lot of info available!

This site is a convenient place to start. As you learn more, you may wish to dig deeper into a particular issue.

Without having to leave this site you may:

· Learn more about WA State efforts to reform ed funding, including the two very influential committees of Basic Education Finance Task Force and Washington Learns Committee.

· Read through the five core Issues to the left, and explore links within each. Also look there to explore the Resources and How To Advocate features that most interest you.

· Look through a set of presentation materials to help you become better informed and to educate others.

· Explore numerous links to resources and info on a list of websites arranged in categories relevant to school funding issues.

· Access specific School Districts budget processes and data to see what your district is doing, and how it compares to others.

· Search through information on WA funding reforms underway.

Ed Funding Presentations and Info Materials

Volunteers have developed PowerPoint presentations to explain how declining revenues and increasing costs have led school districts to their current critical juncture.

Many districts have had to cut programs and reduce staff in vital areas that affect student learning. All students now pay a price for inadequate funding. And in the future, everyone will pay a price if we don’t help get it fixed.

The PowerPoint presentations review these points:

· explain the state’s legal duty to fund Basic Education

· describe the basics of funding processes

· conveys the inter-related complexities of funding policies

· illustrate some of the problems with state’s funding formulas

· depicts how we got into an education funding crisis

· demonstrates the consequences to students and their futures

· outlines what the State is doing to address the issues

Our goal is to inform the general public and encourage you to support full funding of basic education.

Many WSPTA local units are proactively engaged in leading this public education of our community too. The WA State PTA has approved several of the PowerPoint presentation.

All of these files are available to download from this site.

NEW 2008 Presentations

Local Research Resources on Funding Issues

UW—Center on Reinventing Public Education: CRPE engages in independent research and policy analysis on a range of K-12 public education reform issues, including finance & productivity, human resources, governance, regulation, leadership, school choice, equity, and effectiveness.

Funding Washington Schools

WA State Ed Finance Reports

Two thorough resources explaining education funding in WA, and the data on dollars and fiscal statistics

A Citizen’s Guide to K-12 Public School Finance 2008

WA-OSPI’s Guide to Organization and Financing of WA Schools

Advocacy Reports on Funding

More illustrations of changing demands and underfunding:

League of Ed Voter’s June report to BEF—”A Way Forward” offers proposals to transform ed finance and drive gains in student achievement,.

WSPTA Report “WA State School Finances: Does Every Child Count?”

WSPTA Report “Case Study Part 1: 3 Districts Struggle with Inadequate Funding” and “Case Study Part 2: 3 Districts Struggle with Inadequate Funding”

Roles expected of American public education have expanded over the decades— its likely schools will continue to be asked to fulfill even more social and economic services.

Basic Education Finance Joint Legislative Task Force (BEF)

The Basic Education Finance Task Force, a bipartisan group appointed by the Governor, is charged with redefining basic education and developing appropriate funding structures for education — big stuff.

This special State Task Force will be proposing new solutions to fulfill the Washington Learns committee final report for the state Legislature to take up in its 2009 session

The Task Force expects to release its final report & recommendations in Dec. 2008. Indications are that the Task Force will recommend a big increase in education funding that would likely be phased-in over a 6- to 10-year period.

A list of the committee members of the Basic Ed Finance Task Force — BEF Member Contact Info (PDF)

School District Links and Info

Look at data and stats specific to your school district and school building. Click here for more school district data and info.