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House workgroup to study
K-12 education funding
The House Education and
Appropriations committees have established a bipartisan workgroup to
study the way K-12 education is financed in the state.
The purpose of the workgroup is to acquire a foundation of knowledge
that will allow the Legislature to evaluate the effectiveness of the
state’s K-12 education finance structure.
The workgroup will convene five times in 2004 to study education funding
and how it’s aligned with current education goals.
“It has been 27 years
since our school finance system was comprehensively reviewed,” said
Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, who is on the House Education Committee.
“The challenges facing our schools and students have changed
substantially since then and we need to be sure K-12 funding is
addressing these challenges effectively. This workgroup is looking ahead
to the next 25 years and beyond.”
“We’re very interested in
the correlation between student performance and funding, with an
emphasis on the achievement of students who are members of groups that
have historically underachieved,” said Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia,
who is on the House Appropriations Committee. “We’ll be taking an
in-depth look at our policies and funding systems, and what difference
they are making for K-12 education.”
K-12 public schools are
funded through a mix of state funds, federal funds and local taxes to
supplement state basic education funding and are distributed through
various programs. Approximately 45 percent of the state general fund
budget is dedicated to paying for K-12 education in the state.
The Legislature passed
measures this year that alter K-12 funding, including temporarily
changing the school district levy base calculation and revamping the
Learning Assistance Program.
The workgroup will be
chaired by Rep. Bill Fromhold and vice chaired by Rep. Ross Hunter. It
will also include Reps. Kelli Linville, Jim McIntire, Sharon Tomiko-Santos,
Kathy Haigh, Frank Chopp, Rodney Tom, Don Cox, Joyce McDonald, and Gigi
Talcott.
Anderson will be the
ranking Republican member for the workgroup. Alexander will be the
assistant ranking Republican member.
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For more information, contact:
Bobbi Cussins, Public
Information Officer - (360) 786-7252
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