Real life stories about the impact of State underfunding

How are school funding gaps affecting your kids, schools and communities?  Click here to send us your stories!

“I’ve been working for about six years with our middle school, helping teachers secure classroom supplies. The budget for science and art supplies is limited or nonexistent, and half of the district’s computers are so old they can’t be connected to the network... I’m comfortable with the schools my kids are going to because the teachers are dedicated and there have been a number of parents like myself who solicit community support and donations. They still have band and art, but parents are paying or having fund raisers to keep things like that going. We’re all feeling it.” Jim Stanton, father of three, North Thurston School District

“Funding problems? Where do I start? We had a teachers’ strike over money. My daughter’s third-grade class had 32 kids and no teacher’s aide. Every year, social service organizations have backpack drives to help families with supplies to the tune of $50 to $100 per child. Parents foot the bill for foreign-language workbooks, science lab kits and even $3 protective goggles. Without PTA funding, we wouldn’t have elementary reading specialists to help kids who are behind. Families are routinely asked to donate paper at the end of the year because schools run out and can’t afford to buy more. One of our elementary schools had its copy machine break down at the beginning of the school year. There was no money in the budget for a new one, so the school got through the next nine months by test running new copiers. My kids go to a district with very good test scores, yet my son’s chances of going to a top college are less than my neighbor’s because of uneven and inequitable funding between school districts. The neighboring school district has the resources to extend its high school day, offering seven periods instead of six and more advanced placement classes for college bound students. It also has after-school reading and math programs for all students not meeting standards. My district can’t afford to offer those things.” Kelly Munn, mother of three, Issaquah School District

“The first real wake-up call was three years ago when the district had to cut the librarians at our schools. Instead of a full-time librarian at each elementary school, two schools shared one. Librarians who used to handle 400 kids now handle twice that many, and libraries close during school hours because the schools can’t staff them. My son found it more challenging to do research for school projects or find books he liked. He and the other students lost an important connection. There aren’t many teachers at school who know all the kids, and the librarian is one of them. Our elementary PTA raised money to pay for professional development for teachers and classroom equipment. It also bought library books because the library collection is so old. There have been cutbacks in school maintenance, English-language-learners instruction and after-school assistance for students who need extra help. All those programs are shrinking while the need is growing.” Mark Laurel, father of two, Federal Way School District

“I believe cost considerations were behind my school district’s reluctance to provide the services my daughter, Kate, needed for her dyscalculia (a math learning disability). She didn’t need the curriculum meant for severely disabled students, but she couldn’t keep up in regular classes. We finally had to get her a private tutor, spending more than $10,000 over four years. Thank goodness, we could do that. When her grades went up as a result of the tutoring, the district wanted to take away the few accommodations they had made for her. They never did provide the services they were supposed to under the IEP (Individualized Education Plan). My daughter also couldn’t get help in language arts because she fell one point short of the qualifying line. I think if there had been adequate funding, more services would have been provided. Woe be to the student who falls outside the cookie cutter!” Chris Enslein, former Washington public school parent

“According to their scales, I was only struggling a little bit. I was passing all my classes, but only because I was getting so much help each night from my parents, then later, a private tutor. I had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan for children with learning difficulties) but they weren’t following it. Their priorities are with the severely disabled or the highly gifted. Everyone else who has special needs falls through the cracks.” Kate Enslein, former Washington public school student

“We pulled my son, who has dyslexia, out of public schools because our school district can’t afford to provide the special programs he needs. Our daughter still goes to a public elementary school, which is fortunate to have huge parent involvement. The school’s PTA group paid for stipends so teachers could stay after school to help first-grade students struggling with reading. It also paid for after-school intramural sports and WASL testing packets. I feel like I pay twice, as a taxpayer and as a parent, so our kids can get the best they can get, and that’s frustrating.”

Amy Paulson, mother of two, Clover Park School District