As I mentioned in my last blog post and newsletter, I think it’s necessary to discuss the details about levy reform in detail and in public.
Tomorrow, we are hosting a work session on K-12 levy and compensation reform. This session will be a chance for staff to present data on levy issues and for Legislators to discuss, in full public view, this information. While there will be no formal public testimony accepted during the session, we will welcome follow-up feedback from attendees.
Based on the work session and subsequent public feedback, I hope that we will be able to come to joint conclusions that reflect a larger consensus. Bipartisan support of a solution to this issue will be crucial for moving anything forward, and this won’t be achieved without the input and understanding of the public as well.
Thursday, May 21
10:30 a.m.
House Hearing Room C
Washington State Capitol, Olympia
To learn more about these issues, check out my blog here and here for some lengthy discussions on the topic.
Maybe this all goes away for now if you agree on 90%, but I wasn’t sure what Rep Wilcox was getting at with respect to flexibility. He seemed to be making an argument for a more expansive interpretation of “basic” to ensure less affluent districts aren’t at too much of a financial disadvantage. Are we headed toward an expansive/ample definition of what is basic? That makes sense up to the point state funding can’t be negotiated successfully. Regardless of how we end up defining “basic,” we really need to preserve what Rep Carlyle and others described as local flexibility. Limiting that flexibility just provides more incentive for districts to “get creative” (ending up right back where we are today, more or less).
What would be really useful is if we could see the slides you are all looking at during the meeting.