Legislative Priorities
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Olympia School District No. 111, Thurston County, Washington (the “District”) identifies that the Olympia School District will face funding shortfalls in the 2024-25 school year and beyond. The shortfalls are caused, in part, by long-term structural inequitable funding mechanisms and underfunded state or federal requirements. These shortfalls are exacerbated by enrollment declines. To address these financial realities, the Board supports necessary legislative action this session at the state level as follows:
Levy Reform
Local Enrichment Levies are intended to be enrichment to basic education. Until the state fully funds its commitments, school districts are forced to supplement basic education with local levies rather than make programmatic choices that fit the needs and values of each diverse community. The cap on local levies is hindering communities from supporting their schools and is depleting the K-12 system from having meaningful enrichment programs including after school programs and small schools.
We urge the Legislature to address the inequities in the current levy system and support communities working with their districts to provide the educational needs of their students. Maintaining the ability for school districts to access local, voter-approved levy funding and, revising how levy authority is calculated to be based on a designated percentage of each school district's budget, and reinstating and fully funding LEA as originally conceived in 1989 (50 percent levy equalization as a 'floor' for equalization funding) with the goal of equalizing 100 percent of the total amount levied.
Olympia School District is set to rollback $7.4 million in 2024. That is taxes our community voted for, that cannot be collected since the 2018 McCleary Reforms.
Special Education
The Legislature has made significant investments in Special Education over the last several years. But new funding and reform has yet to fully cover the cost of providing the federally mandated educational supports for students with disabilities. In 2022-23, Olympia diverted more than $8,155,000 from other programs to support the special ed program. These are funds that should be providing rich curricular programs for all students, engagement with families, support for teachers and leaders, and other supports to ensure all students are prepared for the future they choose.
2024 Legislative Session Recap
|
House Bill No.
|
Senate Bill No.
|
Name
|
Topic
|
Sponsor
|
What it Does
|
Estimated New Revenue (unknown new expenditures)
|
|
1960
|
5882
|
Increasing prototypical school staffing to better meet student needs.
|
Prototype
|
Stonier
|
Increases the ratio of paraeducators and school office professionals in the prototypical funding model.
|
$316,000 (per year) beginning 2023-24
|
|
2180
|
6014
|
Increasing the special education enrollment funding cap.
|
Special Ed
|
--
|
Increases the special education enrollment funding cap from 15% to 16%. Our district was at 16.23% for K-21 as of January 2024.
|
$1,024,000
|
|
1973
|
5852
|
Special education safety net awards.
|
Special Ed
|
--
|
Limits what the committee may review during the Safety Net application and review process.
|
Indeterminate
|
|
2494
|
--
|
State funding for operating costs in schools.
|
MSOC
|
Bergquist
|
Increases per pupil MSOC rates for General Ed by $21 per pupil.
|
$202,000 (per year) beginning 2023-24
|
|
New Funding in 2023-24:
|
$518,000
|
|
Total Per Year (Ongoing) 2024-25:
|
$1,542,000
|
For bills beginning in 2023-24, the revenue is slightly less as the figure is provided in the 2024-25 inflation adjusted figure.
Note: The Governor must sign legislation before it becomes enacted.
Thurston County Legislators
22nd District:
35th District: