Washington State Supreme Court orders fine against legislators in response to their failure to fund education
The Washington State Supreme Court has fired a shot heard around the state in the battle to fully fund public education. Yesterday, the court voted unanimously to institute a $100,000-per-day fine against the Washington State legislature as consequence for its failure to fully fund public education.
“The Washington Constitution imposes only one ‘paramount duty’ upon the State: ‘to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction of preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex’ …we have repeatedly ordered the State to provide its plan to fully comply with [the Constitution] by the 2018 deadline. The state has repeatedly failed to do so.” — excerpt from the Washington State Supreme Court’s order.
The order was put into place as part of the 2012 McCleary decision that put pressure on legislators to adequately fund K-12 education. Legislative leaders, including Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee, will meet Monday to put the funding of public education back on the table. The order is not self executing, meaning that the fine cannot be paid without a vote by legislators. The justices ordered that the fines would be held in a special account “for the benefit of basic education.”
Wenatchee Education Association (WenEA) president Kris Cameron said the Supreme Court’s actions were welcomed by teachers.
“Washington legislators have dragged their feet on fully funding public education for decades. They have thumbed their noses at our state constitution, the law, and Washington voters. We’re grateful that the Supreme Court is holding them accountable,” Cameron said. “The legislature raised our state gas tax to one of the highest in the nation to pay for transportation projects. They called a special session in two days to give Boeing a record-setting $9 billion tax break with no strings attached. Yet we have dropped to the bottom of the nation in class size, teacher pay and per pupil spending.The voters, kids, and educators have waited long enough. It’s time for the legislature to do its job.”
Not everyone was satisfied with the measures the Court had taken, however.
“It’s not like the court is asking for a solution, they’re asking for a plan. What it tells me is that the legislature did not do their job at all. They didn’t even come up with a plan,” Wenatchee High School English department head Chris Cloke said. “I don’t know if money is the thing that will entice people to act. I don’t know if a fine is going to do it. $100,000 in some ways is more moderate than it could have been… $100,000 dollars sounds like a lot, but when you add it up, it’s a very small portion of what they have to work with. It sounds like a lot to me, but it’s not a lot to [the legislature].”
Inslee released an official statement regarding the Court order yesterday.
“Today’s order from the Supreme Court acknowledges that significant progress has been made toward meeting the state’s obligation to adequately fund basic education. But everyone understood that even with those historic investments in education, our work would not be done,” Inslee said. “The court today made it clear that bolder and more aggressive action is needed to support Washington’s students and their teachers. The detailed plan the court demands in order to fulfill our constitutional obligation will be more complex and expensive than the significant steps we’ve already taken.”
The biennial budget approved by the legislature on June 29 gave small cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to the salaries of all public school employees in Washington as well as additional funding for various classroom supplies However, these measures were not enough to satisfy teachers unions across the state, or the Supreme Court.
