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

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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“We’re using an outdated prototypical school funding model to try to take care of kids in 2024,” said one rural school district superintendent quoted in the report.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.”

Read more from the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is the managing editor of District Administration, covering K-12 public school leadership, teaching and learning, student achievement, education technology, and federal education policy. A journalist since 1996, Zalaznick has reported on politics, law enforcement, and breaking news for newspapers and websites across the U.S. Virgin Islands, the San Francisco Bay Area, Colorado, and the New York City suburbs. He holds a B.A. in English from Tufts University.

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