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Kelso joins school-funding lawsuit

Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:38 PM PDT

By Carrie Pederson

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The Kelso School District is joining a lawsuit to force the state to fully fund basic education.

Kelso is now one of 45 organizations, including the Kelso teachers’ union, bringing the lawsuit under an umbrella group called the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools (NEWS).

NEWS is asking the Legislature to determine the real cost of basic education in the state, which has expanded with increased state and federal demands over the last three decades.

“Folks are tired of committee after committee, study after study,” said Mike Blair, president of the NEWS organization.

The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in King County Superior Court in June. So far Kelso is the only Cowlitz County school district to join the suit.

“It’s important to force legislators’ hands in examining appropriate funding in the state of Washington,” Kelso board member Bob Simmons said at Monday’s board meeting, when Kelso opted to join the suit.

In 1977, the state’s Basic Education Act first defined basic education and created a funding formula. In its 1978 Doran decision, the state Supreme Court ruled the Legislature must fund basic education.

“Before Doran, there was no basic education funding, it was all raised locally through levies,” Kelso Superintendent Glenys Hill said Wednesday. “Basically, (funding) depended on the financial willingness of local taxpayers.”

School districts have been allowed to continue collecting local levies for extra programs, such outdoor school. But levy money hasn’t been used as discretionary funds for a long time, board member Patty Wood said. Instead, they are used to supplement basic education dollars.

The 1993 Education Reform Act introduced more rigorous standards for students and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. The federal No Child Left Behind of 2001 mandated all students meet standards, including English as a Second Language students and students with disabilities.

“The expectations have changed since the mid-1990s, and certainly since the federal legislation of No Child Left Behind,” Hill said. “The accountability for schools in the state is huge.”

“I think holding schools accountable is the right direction we are moving in,” she said. “It’s not that we want more money without more accountability. ... We welcome that challenge, but it takes resources.”

Wood and Hill acknowledged the state representatives have worked hard to be supportive with a limited budget.

“We’ve been working so hard to develop good working relationship with our legislators,” Wood said. They have listened, she said, but results haven’t come through statewide.

The board was initially hesitant to join the lawsuit due to the cost of legal fees, which were originally estimated to be around $10,000. The Kelso Education Association — the teacher’s union — negotiated the cost down to $1,000 to be split between the association and the district in the next two years.

With staff being laid-off in Kelso for the first time in 20 years, board members say the lawsuit comes at an important moment in the district’s history.

“We just aren’t getting what we need,” Wood said. “We cannot manage our budget anymore. We cannot manage ourselves out of this problem.”

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balkatie wrote on Sep 12, 2008 10:54 AM:

" OK there are no comments on this and there are many on the El Tucan story? Why is everyone so conserned with a restaurant opening when they should be more conserned with the education of or children? I hope that the state is going to have to fully fund basic education in Kelso, but what about Longview School district. What are you doing to ensure that your kids in school are getting the education that they need to be sucessful? We need higher standards to ensure that the drop out rate decreases, that kids have fun in school while they learn. And we need to have a consistent programming in Longview for kids with behavior, Mental, and Physical disabilities. I am a step mother of a child with behavior problems, and I see him going down a bad path as long as the education of those kids are left where they are right now. Expectations need to be higher. These kids need more. MOre help in the class room, more help with homework, to understand and learn patience in school. I do give credit to the Columbia Heights Elementary school for their work with the kids, but that is not enough. Our kids should not have to pay for their books they use in the classroom everyday, unless they are written in. Come on Longview school district, wake up and get involved so the tax payers can see more results from their money!!!!!!! "

FanInTheStands wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:33 AM:

" Glad to see the Kelso Admin. fighting for school funding. The state is requiring more and more without adequately funding the requirements. Hopefully the state will put theri moeny where their mouth is and give all schools the necessary funds to educate all children. GO KELSO! "

random wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:35 AM:

" The reason people aren't commenting here is that this is a positive towards the school district. Funny how when things come out that sound negative everyone has something to say, but show them something positive and they can't think of anything worth saying. Go figure. "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Sep 12, 2008 12:24 PM:

" Well I guess this is a positive step. My question is why is legal action necessary? It would not be if Da Tax Queen and the Liberals in Olympia had not passed down UNFUNDED PAY INCREASES on the districts. That isn't leadership, it's passing the burden. So now the districts have to spend tax dollars they don't really have on lawyers to fight a problem that shouldn't exist. Wow and the Liberals support her because she is pro-union, pro-abortion, pro-gays, and pro-big government even if that means putting the burden on school districts. Yes, I can see why the Liberals will be voting for Da Tax Queen. My vote is going to the best candidate, Dino Rossi. "

Go Chinooks!!! wrote on Sep 12, 2008 1:59 PM:

" The states "PARAMONT DUTY" is to fund Education per our constitution.
The court says they have to fund it and they have argued over "what is basic Education" for decades and not fully funded it becasue they won't define it. But they sure do keep piling on those unfunded mandateds that make them look good . They say "see what we did" we did this and that for Education (but let the school districts figure out how to pay for it). The Governor and legislature have failed miserably. "

mother in kelso wrote on Sep 12, 2008 2:00 PM:

" Way to go kelso! Sad to see it takes this sort of action to get our children the education and educational materials that they need. Longview get your rears in gear don't let the kids down. "

Proud Mama wrote on Sep 12, 2008 2:45 PM:

" Legal action is necessary because nobody wants to hand over any money for anything. The district can't get money from the state and the parents can't get money from the district to fund appropriate educational services. So the district is going to try and compel the state. I just wish I had a group to back me up and haggle my legal fee down to a $1,000. The state is not the only entity passing unfunded mandates. Look to the Feds. They are passed all the time NCLB ring a bell? And TDN Badboy you make a good point about spending money on lawyers---just apply it to the hundreds of parents out their that get screwed regarding special education for their children. Our tax dollars are being used against us in due process hearings to defend an educational position till the financial death so as not to set a precedent. I mean God forbid somebody's child might actually get what the IDEA promises, a free and appropriate education based up each child's Individual Educational Needs. The district seems to lose sight as to why they became educators to begin with. And lastly, sorry I didn't comment sooner---I was out saving one child at a time. "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Sep 12, 2008 4:07 PM:

" Proud Mama, you missed my point when I asked why is this necessary. My point was that with a governor and legislature this should not be necessary. Of course we have Da Tax Queen and the Liberals in Olympia so yes it is necessary. It should not be. As stated above the governor and legislature failed miserably on this and should be voted out of office. Vote Rossi for better leadership. "

roudy russ wrote on Sep 12, 2008 7:09 PM:

" I know poor little bad boy the BIG, TERRIBLE, DEMOCRATES have destroyed the world and it is all the DEMOCRATES fault. If the planet was ran by only republicans everything would be paradise. No wars or poverty or crime would ever exist if the PERFECT republicans ran the world. I have another idea, mabey just mabey the republicans are just as dishonest, greedy and full of thieves as the DEMOCRATES, socialist, communist,and any other group of people in the &*% DAMN WORLD!!!! "

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