Peninsula Daily News
and The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — In a case with Chimacum roots, the Supreme Court ruled today that the state isn’t meeting its constitutional obligation to amply pay for basic public education.
But the justices gave an endorsement to the reform work the Legislature has already started.
The 85-page opinion said, however, that the judiciary would keep an eye on lawmakers to make sure they fully implement education reforms by 2018.
“The court intends to remain vigilant in fulfilling the state’s constitutional responsibility under article IX, section 1,” Justice Debra Stephens wrote in concluding the majority opinion.
The Legislature convenes next week for a 60-day session.
Lawmakers will also need to focus on what to do about a nearly billion-dollar budget shortfall.
A coalition of school districts, parents, teachers and community groups won a lawsuit in King County Superior Court in February 2010.
Leader of the coalition is former Chimacum School District Superintendent Mike Blair.
Blair, who retired from the top Chimacum schools post in 2010, has led the plaintiff Network for Excellence in Washington Schools, and the lead lawsuit petitioner is Stephanie McCleary, his former administrative assistant who has two children in Chimacum schools.
King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick ruled that the state was violating its constitution by not fully paying for basic education, a victory for the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools.
The state appealed, saying Erlick reached beyond the Supreme Court’s previous ruling on this issue in 1978.
The current Supreme Court held a lively public hearing on the case at the end of June. Many of their questions concerned whether the Legislature had made any progress lately in improving the way the state pays for education.
