Rising costs for Washington school districts outpace state funding, report finds

In recent years, districts are spending a lot more money to keep Washington’s schools running — but state funding isn’t keeping up.

That’s according to a new report from the League of Education Voters, which found school districts have increased spending on staff by 19.7% between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years.

“We’re using an outdated prototypical school funding model to try to take care of kids in 2024,” said one rural school district superintendent quoted in the report. “It’s like trying to use a geometry equation to solve a calculus problem. They don’t match.”

There are 295 school districts total in Washington and the report authors say 28 were surveyed that “represent the diversity of school districts across the state” in terms of enrollment, location, racial demographics and other factors.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/08/13/rising-costs-for-washington-school-districts-outpace-state-funding-report-finds/