Plan to lift levy equalization could prove ‘devastating' to Medical Lake
By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
Medical Lake School Board held its annual hearing on Initiative 728 last Tuesday, where school officials announced the district won't be getting the initiative funds as promised by the state next year, or the year after. The district intended to spend 100 percent of I-728 money on class size reduction.
As total enrollment numbers for the district continue to drop, and covering cost of living adjustments (COLA) continue to increase, losing the promised funds came as sad news to officials.
Medical Lake and many other area school districts are also still waiting to hear if they're going to receive voter-approved levy dollars, now that Gov. Christine Gregoire has decided to call lawmakers back for a special session this month. They will decide on a bill that could lift current levy lids by 4 percent so schools can collect more taxpayer money to cover the lost funding caused by the state's need to reduce its now $9 billion budget deficit.
The state provides approximately 72 percent of Medical Lake School's annual budget, and the district has long relied on its levies to cover all other non-funded mandates.
Medical Lake School District Superintendent Pam Veltri said the governor's proposal to move a greater portion of the costs to maintain current programs to local districts by implement higher levy equalizations will be, in one word, “devastating.”
“The cost is left on the few people who can pay for it,” Veltri said, explaining that if the state chooses to lift its levy lids, it would be devastating to Medical Lake and other “property poor” school districts who can't collect at higher percentages.
“We were very upset at the news of these cuts,” Veltri said.
Preliminary figures from the state budget, approved by the Legislature, included some stimulus funds that will help recoup about $1.5 million in lost funding for the district. Veltri said this stimulus money helped bring the district's total funding shortfall to about $898,611 for the 2009-2010 school year.
Minus salary and benefit increases through the annual COLA, Veltri said that leaves “about $584,923 the district will need to recoup from somewhere else.”
School officials also don't know yet how they can spend stimulus money, a good share of it likely going to Title 1 programs and special education. Veltri said the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is gathering federal regulation criteria to forward to school districts on how to spend the money, which should arrive by the end of May.
Though the district expected initiative funds would be lost, and the stimulus funds somewhat help the situation, “It's still going to be tough for us,” Veltri added.
Less state funding and continued declining enrollment—a trend caused mostly by the housing privatization movement of military at Fairchild Air Force Base — continue to cause the district to trim its programs and already slim budget, which translates to less of a quality education for local students.
In a statement posted on the district web site, Veltri called on the local community to contact their local legislatures, requesting they not shift the burden of funding education to districts and taxpayers.
“They need to hear us loud and clear,” Veltri said,adding “our state constitution clearly states it is the ‘paramount' duty of our state government to fund basic education, and they are clearly not living up to this mandate.”
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
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