Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The question up to 2018 was, 'Will it get fixed?'
This year it is, 'Will it get fixed, again?'
The statewide issue known as McCleary, which has loomed over school district funding since the 2012 Washington Supreme Court decision that gave it its name, may get changed again in the next two weeks as the legislature finishes its spring 2019 session.
The main feature of last June's McCleary fix was a limit put on local levies of $1.50 per thousand dollars in property value.
Last week, a bill passed out of committee in Olympia to raise the levy limit to $2.50 per thousand.
The bill made it to the Senate floor where amendments were added (regarding charter schools, etc.) and it stalled.
“I would still be surprised if something didn't come out,” said Jake Dingman, Oakesdale superintendent, referring to the April 28 close of the legislative session.
Representative Joe Schmick (R-Ninth District) is in the thick of it.
“Quite frankly, I think it's too soon to comment,” said Schmick Tuesday during a break at the capitol. “The amendments coming from the House side, and I don't know what the Senate's gonna do. It's really up in the air.”
One district
Dingman's Oakesdale district passed a levy in February at $3.67 per thousand for four years, which replaced the same rate for the four previous years. With the new $1.50 limit, this means that Oakesdale's levy will be collected at that rate, until, or if and when, the law changes.
At $3.67, Oakesdale brings in about $667,000 per year. At $1.50, the number is between $250,000-$300,000, plus an additional 90 cents per thousand from the state coming from property tax as part of last summer's McCleary fix.
“A dollar fifty plus ninety cents does not make $3.67,” Dingman said.
Oakesdale anticipated this might happen, cutting three full-time positions last May and reducing their overall budget by five percent.
“So that's how we're able to make it work,” Dingman said. “We planned our four-year budget out with the $1.50 limit in mind.”
Now Oakesdale's teacher and staff salaries are covered by what the state provides.
“We're within our allocation now,” the superintendent said. “We had to save the levy money.”
Teacher pay
Teacher salaries are another key element in this. Before, Washington had a uniform teacher salary schedule for all 295 school districts. Now, with the current McCleary fix, this is the first school year each district handles their own teacher salaries – beyond a state-required starting salary of $40,000 per year, and a four-year mark too.
“There's nothing simple about it,” Dingman said. “For a lot of people, it's a high learning curve.”
So what will happen now?
“I would hope they loosen the levy limit a bit,” said Dingman.
He indicated Oakesdale is one of 35 districts to come out of the McCleary fix with less money.
“If they add 50 more cents, that would help,” he said, noting that features of the Senate bill from last week would be sufficient.
So will an agreement be made before the end of the session?
“I think it's going to be a hot topic of conversation,” said Rep. Schmick. “I think it will be part of the final negotiation of bills. It's something we're watching very closely because I have a lot of small school districts.”
For Colfax, last year, under its previous two-year levy, the district brought in $1.3 million. This year, under its new $1.50 per thousand levy, it is $648,000.
The state also gives more to each district than before the $1.50 rule.
More factors
Another, coincidental, element in this is the School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) – an adjustment in medical benefits in its first year, which raises district costs.
“It opens the door for part-time teachers to get full-time benefits,” Colfax Superintendent Jerry Pugh said. “If they're raising the levy to pay for SEBB, I am vehemently opposed.”
For Oakesdale, SEBB marks a $45,000 increase in costs for this year.
“We have to work with it,” Dingman said. “We adjusted our expenses, supplies, purchasing, you name it. We've cut back. I think some districts have hard decisions this year, whereas we did last year.”
The Oakesdale district, like most around the state, sets its annual budget in June, based on forecasted student count. They may then adjust in January for actual student count.
In the end, for McCleary fixing again, or not, it will come down to the legislators, who take input from the superintendents.
“Our input was leave the salaries alone. Leave the levies alone,” said Dingman.
He must be a wiz when it comes to the family budget.
“It's the last thing I want to think about when I get home,” Dingman said with a laugh.
Colton and more
In February of last year, the Colton approved a levy for 2019 at $3.08 per thousand.
This year, the district dropped its asking rate for 2020 to $2.50 per thousand. The latest one-year levy passed and Colton will collect at the $1.50 rate for now.
In February, Dingman went to Olympia with Pugh and Tekoa superintendet Mark Heid. They met with representatives Schmick, Mary Dye and Sen. Mark Schoessler, among others on the McCleary matter.
“I'm concerned what gets decided will serve certain districts and not others,” Pugh said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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