Vote yes for public schools this weekend

It's finally Saturday and a great time to dig your ballot out of the pile of mail on your counter, mark it and send it in.

Voters across Washington are being asked to approve school district levy and bond requests. Ballots are due Tuesday, February 9, making today a great time to get yours into the mail.

While passing levy and bond requests has always been important to school quality, this year fulfilling such requests is absolutely crucial. Because education is such a large part of the state's budget, school districts will take huge cuts in state funding this year, on top of last year's cuts, as the legislature covers a $2.6 billion budget deficit. Thursday's ruling in the Network for Excellence in Washington's Schools (NEWS) lawsuit against the state, charging that it is failing to adequately fund its public schools, highlights how the state has not been living up to its "paramount duty."

From the ruling of Superior Court Judge John Erlick:

State funding is not ample, it is not stable, and it is not dependable. Local school districts continue to rely on local levies and other non-State resources to supplement state funding for a basic program of education.

Local levies provide for such things as textbooks, teachers, art and athletics. In many school districts, they cover 19% of the district's expenses.

From the Wenatchee World:

If passage of school levies ever was a necessity, it is now.

Local school districts have been under increasing pressure for years, since it is a rule of thumb in Washington that financial demands on education grow faster than the Legislature’s willingness to fund them. Consequently, maintenance and operations levies that once funded additions now fund essentials. And so it is, more and more, year after year.

So, while you have a little free time this weekend, make a point to fill out your ballot and drop it in the mail. We must continue to push hard on the state to do its part in funding schools, but for now, our levies and bonds are filling the gap.