Reports on the NEWS Case

By Mike Blair, Catherine Ahl and Bill Williams

Washington State is failing its children.

Not a campaign slogan, not a political statement, not a platitude, this reality is now the subject of a recent Superior Court ruling declaring our State in violation of its constitutional “paramount duty” to make ample provision for the education of all students.

The trial that sought to change education funding once and for all started on the final day of August, a week before most of the 1 million public school students in Washington headed back to class. Nearly eight weeks later, the trial ended on a typical autumn afternoon in Seattle, though the change in seasons hardly seemed noticeable inside Courtroom 1060 in King County Superior Court. For 25 trial days, attorneys for the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools and the State of Washington matched legal skills over a fundamental question:

Is the State fulfilling its constitutional duty to amply provide for the education of all Washington students?

The trial that Judge John Erlick called "one of the best, if not the best" he's ever tried culminated Wednesday with five hours of closing arguments, complete with charts, graphs and dollar figures. But each side's presentations probably could be boiled down to two words: "pay up" by the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools and "trust us" by the State.

Today, attorneys for the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools and for the State offered a series of depositions and exhibits. Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow, when the trial will come to a close.

The State wrapped up its case Thursday by portraying Washington as a place where school facilities are in good shape, teachers are well compensated and students are given the opportunity to achieve at high levels. Attorneys for the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools gave a different picture, reiterating that the State has consistently failed to fully fund K-12 education, whether it be the cost of teachers, textbooks or bus transportation.

According to a Texas economist who has studied Washington's labor market, teachers in the Evergreen State – except for those in the greater Puget Sound area – are well compensated compared to non-educators.

"In many parts of the state, teacher is a position that pays better than you'd expect for a person with a college degree," said Lori Taylor, the State's main witness on Wednesday in the trial over education funding. She is an associate professor at Texas A&M University who specializes in education finance.

According to social science research quoted by State experts, increased funding for education has no discernible relationship to student performance. And Washington's public schools apparently have adequate resources, based on observations of facilities and teachers. This is what the State maintained through its presentation of witnesses on Day 21 of the trial over education funding.

Basic education in Washington is "woefully underfunded" by the State, with strapped school districts struggling to pay competitive salaries and to keep curriculum updated, a top State education official said Monday. More than $1 billion in additional State support would be needed to fund basic education as defined by the State, said Jennifer Priddy, assistant superintendent for financial resources for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.