‘Let’s stop the blame game,’ Reykdal says in WA State of Education speech
OLYMPIA, Wash. - From funding to enrollment, Superintendent of Public Schools Chris Reykdal gave the fourth annual State of Education on Thursday morning.
"Let’s stop the blame game and let’s focus on the real challenge that this state under-invested in education," said Reykdal.
His annual update focused on school funding, student achievement, and the risk of not investing in our schools.
Breakdown of the Washington Superintendent's speech
Local perspective:
One graph showed the district expenditures versus state and federal investments.
"Had these been funded, you would not have seen the headlines of schools in distress," Reykdal said.
The graph also painted a picture of the shortage when it comes to special education and a $435 million gap.
"We cannot have support for students with disabilities be a function of local levies, it’s not fair to those students and families when one school district can pass a levy and one can’t," Reykdal said.
State funds vs. federal funds
By the numbers:
Reykdal says he is sending a letter and then meeting with some of our congressional delegation in March because it is time for Washington to have a bipartisan approach to the injustice of sending $22 billion more to the federal government than we are collecting.
"We send $1.4 trillion in income taxes out and get less than $1.2 billion back, that’s a big deal," Reykdal said.
When it comes to enrollment, there is some recovery, but we likely won’t see pre-pandemic levels in the foreseeable future because of declining birth rates, according to Reykdal.
"It’s a national challenge, we simply have fewer five-year-olds starting school than 18-year-olds graduating these days," Reykdal said.
There is recovery when it comes to school attendance.
"By December we’ve got average [weekly] attendance that’s essentially getting very close to pre-pandemic levels. That’s very exciting," said Reykdal.
What's next:
"So, this session with 102 days left to go, let's collectively lean into funding our schools, let’s make sure our students get the most out of their learning and have high expectations, and let's be critical where we can get better," Reykdal said.
He also touched on the incoming federal administration and said if the Trump Administration is earnest about the flexibility of states and getting equitable resources paid in federal taxes, they’re all in, but if it is about stepping on the civil rights of children, then they’re going to fight it.
The Source: Original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Shirah Matsuzawa.
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