School District Facts: Funding WA Schools

Understand the consequences of underfunded K-12 students

WA School Districts

Local Control Plays A Large Role

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There are now 295 independent school districts in Washington. For each district there is an elected school board (often 5 members plus the ex officio Superintendent), a school Superintendent and administration.

The largest school district is Seattle with approx. 40,000 students. The smallest several dozen districts have fewer than 1,000 students, some count a few hundred.

How are public schools in Washington organized?

Washington is largely considered a “local control” state. This means that local school districts are generally responsible for delivering the actual instructional programs for the state’s elementary and secondary school-age population. Each district is governed by a locally-elected school board whose members serve staggered four-year terms. Each school board hires a Superintendent who oversees the day-to-day operation of the school district. Currently, there are a total of 295 school districts. The public school system in the state of Washington involves various entities at both the state and local levels, including the Legislature, the Governor, the State Board of Education, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the federal Department of Education, the State Auditor’s Office, the Professional Educators Standards Board, Educational Service Districts, and local school districts. Each of these entities play a role in establishing educational policies, implementing these policies, or providing administrative and financial oversight of the public school system.

Source: 2008 Citizen’s Guide to K-12 Finance prepared by staff of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee with staff of the Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program (LEAP) Committee.

· 2008 School Districts per Legislative District per PTA Region