School Board members from at least seven of nine North Olympic Peninsula school districts are expected to attend a weekend conference with state legislators Sunday and Monday in Olympia in hopes of getting some answers about school funding.
Between the federal budget sequestration and no final action so far in the state Legislature after the state Supreme Court ordered more funding for public schools, Peninsula School Board members increasingly are concerned about how much money will be available for education in the near future.
The Washington State School Directors’ Association Legislative Conference will give School Board members statewide access to legislators, who are now considering several bills regarding education funding and reform.
Many of the bills are in response to the McCleary decision — named for the Chimacum resident Stephanie McCleary, who was encouraged to file suit by former Chimacum Superintendent Mike Blair — in January 2012.
In the ruling, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state isn’t meeting its constitutional obligation to amply pay for basic public education and called on legislators to implement educational reforms by 2018.
In Port Angeles, four of five School Board members will attend the state conference.
On Feb. 25, the Port Angeles School Board approved a resolution asking the state to abide by the McCleary decision and make “a significant investment, beginning in the 2013-’15 biennium, in the redefined program of basic education as described in this resolution.”
The resolution was proposed in late February by the state association, which asked all school boards in the state to approve and submit it to their state legislators.
Port Angeles and Chimacum school boards have approved the resolution, but other districts in the North Olympic Peninsula have not yet considered or voted on it.
State legislators do not seem to be responding to the court’s order, board members said at the Port Angeles School Board’s February meeting.
In the conversation with legislators, the message is that there will be “no new funding without educational reforms,” said Sarah Methner, board member.
Because of the conference, the March 11 Port Angeles School Board meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, March 18, when members are expected to report on what they learned from the event.
At least one board member from the Sequim, Cape Flattery, Chimacum and Port Townsend school districts also is expected to attend the conference, school district offices confirmed.
It was unknown if a representative from Crescent School District will attend as of Thursday afternoon, said Clayton Mork, superintendent of Crescent schools.
One member of the Quilcene School Board will attend the conference, and a Brinnon School Board member may attend but has not confirmed, said Wally Lis, superintendent of Quilcene and Brinnon school districts.
“All of us have heard so much conflicting news. It’s hard to get a handle on which way things are going,” Lis said.
A recent community meeting to discuss education funding in Port Townsend resulted in more questions than answers, and the upcoming conference is likely to have similar results for School Board members, Lis said.
The state of Washington will receive 5 percent less Title I grant funding from the federal government, resulting in a loss of $11,606,368 for the lowest-income schools in fiscal year 2013.
This represents a potential a loss of 160 staff members statewide, many of whom are classroom assistants who work with small groups of students who are struggling in reading or math, Lis said.
“Of all the groups that need the help, this is the group that is going to get dinged,” he said.
The state district also expects to lose $11,251,352 in IDEA Part B Grants — for the education of children with disabilities — which funds 136 teachers in the state of Washington.
How each individual school district will be affected by the cuts has not yet been determined.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
