Legislative Advocacy
Public School Budget Reality
School funding is complex, but here’s a simplified answer to the question: Why don’t schools have enough money? Current state funding does not fully cover school district operating costs, particularly in areas with a high cost-of-living like Shoreline. Federal support of education has seen significant cuts, and the programs it is mandated to support, like support of students with disabilities, have been chronically underfunded for years. At the state level, Washington restructured school funding for all public schools in 2018 as a result of the McCleary case. The new funding model made all school districts much more dependent on state funds and capped local ability to raise funds through levies.
The COVID crisis then gave schools: 1) new crises and rising costs that sapped reserves, 2) temporary federal funding that delayed budget cut decisions, and 3) declines in student enrollment. Because Shoreline is already at the max of our cap for our local levy, we can’t raise additional funds locally to make up the shortfall. Thus, we face a budget shortfall and the threat of significant cuts each year or further debt.
Further information about the public school funding picture:
→ Shoreline School District Budget Information
→ https://www.waschoolfunding.org/
Action Steps: What Can We Do?
WSPTA is the oldest and largest nonprofit, grassroots children’s advocacy association in Washington state. With over 80,000 members in nearly 800 PTAs statewide, our collective parent voice matters.
Subscribe to Shoreline and WA State Action Networks.
By subscribing, you will receive Action Alert emails when something significant is happening around school funding legislation. Alerts will include easy, actionable steps to take and links to follow to stay educated and know the best way to advocate for your child’s school funding.
Write to and call your State Legislators.
Let’s come together to call for increased education funding and push for Washington to restructure our education funding model moving forward. We want to maintain Shoreline’s high-quality education and not see further cuts to our schools. Real-world stories from constituents are especially impactful, so share how your family will be or has been personally affected by the education budget cuts.
State District 32
State Senator Jesse Salomon: jesse.salomon@leg.wa.gov / (360) 786-7662
State Representative Cindy Ryu: cindy.ryu@leg.wa.gov / (360) 786-7880
State Representative Lauren Davis: lauren.davis@leg.wa.gov / (360) 786-7910
The closer we get to the legislative session in the new year, the more information we will receive from our PTA Advocacy Director, along with letter templates and scripts that address the current legislative landscape and the PTA advocacy priorities. Stay tuned!