Washington Quality Education Study Recommends $1.7 Billion More for Schools

On April 3, 2003, the Rainier Institute, a Seattle bipartisan think tank, released the results of an eighteen-month study, "What Will It Take?" aimed at creating and costing out a Quality Education Model (QEM) for Washington State. The study, sponsored primarily by the Washington Education Association (WEA) and led by Dr. David Conley, a University of Oregon professor who put together a similar study for the State, in Oregon, said that an additional $1.7 billion was needed in order to allow Washington students the opportunity to reach the goals set for them by state and federal legislation. Some highlights of the QEM include: teacher salaries competitive for the Far West region; smaller class sizes; more support staff; and full-day kindergarten throughout the State.

According to the WEA, the gathering of education groups to commission the study was prompted by the passage of tougher state standards without the resources to give students the opportunity to meet the standards. In 1993, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, the Education Reform Act (HB 1209), which contained high expectations for student performance. By 2008, students will have to pass state tests in order to graduate. Since 1993, however, the student body of the state has become larger by 100,000 and more diverse, but funding has barely kept up with inflation. The WEA and its partners aim to use the study to initiate a conversation on how the Act could live up to its promise.

The costing-out study used a combination of the professional-judgment and effective school-wide strategies methodologies to arrive at the final cost figure. Using a combination of research on effective educational programs and recommendations from Washington education "experts," Conley and his team created three prototype schools, for elementary, middle, and high school. Each school was assigned numbers of students, staff, and services based on current spending levels in the state, and these numbers were then modified based on research and input from education professionals. Nearly 20 education organizations, including the WEA, Washington State Parent Teacher Association, and Washington Association of School Principals, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, participated in the study. According to Seattle Times reports, Conley hopes that, as was the case in Oregon, a panel will be appointed to study the QEM further and to communicate it to legislators, who will eventually use it to guide the state's funding system. He realizes, however, that the economic climate in Washington State in 2002 is quite challenging--the projected deficit is $2.6 billion--and he does not expect immediate implementation.

Prepared April 11, 2003