School funding reform bill in the works
Published 6:02 pm Monday, April 27, 2015
On April 22, Senate Republicans introduced a school-finance reform proposal, co-sponsored by Sen. Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island), that aims to create a more fair, stable and sustainable system to pay for the state’s K-12 schools.
The key element of Senate Bill 6109, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Dammeier (R-Puyallup), is a shift in responsibility from local school district levies to the state common-schools levy.
Dammeier said the intent of the bill is to correct inequalities by having the state reassume the financial responsibility for basic education, such as teacher’s salaries. The effect is a tax increase in wealthier school districts with high property values.
The state would lower local school district levy taxes by capping them at $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed value, while raising the statewide common schools levy to $3.30 per $1,000 in value by 2020.
The plan is said to be “revenue neutral,” but would raise property taxes for 60 percent of Washingtonians in 2019, said Washington State Democratic Party Spokesman Jamal Raad.
The bill would raise property taxes in MISD by $1.03 per $1,000 of assessed value, according to a press release. The median home value on Mercer Island is $1,043,700.
Democrats introduced Senate Bill 6102 to reform local school levies and pay for local levy reductions with a yearly seven percent state tax on capital gains of $250,000 for single taxpayers or $500,000 for couples.
It would raise an estimated $1.2 billion in the next two years and lower property taxes for 98.7 percent of residents.
Washington State Treasurer Jim McIntire came up with another option to fund schools: a state income tax. Many are against the idea, including Gov. Jay Inslee. Dammeier said he would try to limit how many people would see property tax increases, while still covering basic education costs.
In 2012, the State Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature had failed to fulfill its paramount duty under the constitution to “make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.” The court also said that the local levies could not be used to pay for basic education costs that should be funded by the state.
In a press release, Litzow urged the Legislature to end on time to allow students, teachers and local school districts to utilize a significant investment in public education in the final state budget.
Funding basic education has been the main focus of this legislative session, but an agreement hasn’t been reached yet.
Talks are expected to continue April 29, when a 30-day special session begins.
