King 5 News reports that parents at Schmitz Park Elementary School and McGilvra Elementary School in Seattle feel obligated to give private money to help pay the salaries of their children’s public school teachers.  At the same time, Superintendent Larry Nyland received $68 million in state funding to pay teacher salaries at neighborhood schools.

Superintendent Nyland District points the finger at state taxpayers, claiming “The state is not funding schools adequately enough...”  He tries to create the false impression that Seattle’s schools are in dire need of funds, a picture of poverty and want.

Nyland’s finger-pointing makes no sense.  The people of Washington are providing record levels of funding for public schools.  Superintendent Nyland himself is benefitting from a budget of  $857 million for 2017-18, a $68 million increase.  That is the highest level ever, and enough to provide every child $16,000 for education, more than the tuition at most private schools.

Despite this windfall, Superintendent Nyland is not funding salaries for teachers at Schmitz Park and McGilvra, shifting that burden to the parents.

Seattle’s school budget has increased by over $300 million in recent years, according to state budget figures:

* Sources: “Workload/Staffing/Finance, Seattle School District, Washington State K-12 Finance Data,” Office of Financial Management, at https://fiscal.wa.gov/K12Districts.aspx, and “Seattle Public Schools, 2017-18 Adopted Budget,” Seattle Public Schools, at https://www.seattleschools.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=14984. 

Superintendent Nyland receives a salary of $298,000 a year, plus $56,000 in benefits.  He is supposed to make sure teachers receive their (much more modest) salaries for their work in educating children in Seattle’s 98 public schools.  Yet he is comfortable with having moms and dads contribute private money to pay the salaries of local teachers.

Where did Seattle’s $68 million in increased state school funding go?

Superintendent Nyland takes a hard-hearted view of working families and small business owners who sacrifice every day to pay the taxes that fund his growing budget.  What good does it do for the legislature to enact large increases in education funding, if school district officials don’t make sure the money reaches neighborhood schools?

Having parents pay for their children to attend a public school undermines the very concept of public education.  As one parent put it, “It feels more like private school.”  

If that’s the case, then why not give parents direct access to public funding and let them choose their own schools?  At least families would then be sure the money provided by the state is being used to educate children, instead of mysteriously disappearing into the education bureaucracy.