The Fight Over School Funding
A Seattle legislator warns that a proposed state school levy would strip over $150,000 from the coffers of Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane.
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Representative Meany has entered his protest and cast his vote against House Bill No. 141. He stated that he had nothing personal against outgoing State Superintendent R.B. Bryan, but he disagreed with his ideas about the support of city schools. Meany procured figures showing that the bill would take from the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane a total of $150,836.43. Under the current system, the average school income per capita in these three cities is $29.14, while outside these areas it is $7.55. The proposed law would establish a uniform 15-mill levy across the state, but redistribute it at only $10 per capita. Meany argues that the cities would essentially be subsidizing the rest of the state at the expense of their own local educational quality.
“It is clear that these cities would be paying out in the 15 mills tax levy an excess of $7.43 per capita.”
This 1891 debate over centralizing tax revenue and the equitable distribution of school funds mirrors modern-day tensions in Washington state regarding levy equalization and the funding disparity between urban centers and rural districts.
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