What's New

A new page on the our website provides graphs illustrating the gap between State funding and what it really costs to provide Washington students with the knowledge and skills mandated in our State learning standards. Check out Local District Funding Gaps for graphs for all NEWS member school districts as well as for selected other larger Washington school districts.
 

Judge John Erlick has allowed each side in the NEWS trial to submit briefs regarding the recent Washington State Supreme Court ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Federal Way School District. Click here to read the NEWS brief.

The Washington Supreme Court has issued a ruling in the Federal Way School District’s lawsuit challenging the State funded salary levels for that district under the current “grandfathered” system.

The NEWS trial, which began in King County Superior Court in Seattle on August 31, came to a close on October 21. Judge John Erlick has said he expects to take 90 days to issue a ruling. To read the final summary of court proceedings or daily reports on the trial, go to Reports on the NEWS Trial.

The education funding lawsuit brought by the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools against the State is now under way in King County Superior Court in Seattle. Judge John Erlick is presiding over the trial, which is expected to last six weeks into the middle of October.

Attorneys for NEWS contend that the State is failing to live up to its constitutional mandate, which reads: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders...”

Now that the regular legislative session has ended and House Bill 2261 is awaiting Gov. Chris Gregoire's signature, NEWS members are being asked about this legislation relating to the State's basic education program. We believe the bill is one step forward, a promise made by this year's legislators regarding what they hope future legislators will do in the upcoming decade leading up to 2018. The NEWS lawsuit, however, is not about what the State promises or hopes to do in the future. Our State's school children have already lived through 30 years of well-intentioned promises and hopes. Instead, the NEWS lawsuit is about what our State Constitution requires the State to do now.

The Highline School District, Highline Education Association, Vietnamese Friendship Association and the Seattle Breakfast Group have voted to join NEWS. Welcome! Read the full list.

View and listen to our narrated PowerPoint presentation.

NEWS sponsored a statewide essay contest in the fall of 2008 to give Washington’s public high school students the opportunity to share their views about the quality of their education and its success in preparing them to live and work in a global economy. In 500 words or less, students were asked to respond to the following two-part question:

Washington’s Constitution states that it is “the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children... “ In order to prepare you to live, work and compete in the global economy of today and tomorrow, what do you believe this education should include, and why? How well are our state’s public schools succeeding – or not succeeding – in delivering the kind of education you need to be successful in life?

NEWS has selected one statewide winner, Yang Hu, a senior at Hanford High School in Richland, who received $250. A matching $250 was awarded to Yang's school. Congratulations! Here is the winning essay:

A good education should teach a student to call upon a vast array of knowledge to help him make wise decisions. In a highly competitive world that values intelligence over strength, a successful education is crucial in order to function in the society.

The hearing for the motion for summary judgment was held in August 2007.  Read the full text of the Respondent's Supplemental Opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment and NEWS' Petitioner Closing Brief.