Aberdeen's Schools Face a Budgetary Cliff
With a funding shortfall and the economic pain of the 1894 railroad strike hitting local coffers, the newly formed school board struggles to keep doors open for more than six months.
The new school board held its first session yesterday, and discussed the problem which confronts them of the schools for the ensuing year. W. W. Weatherwax, the senior member, was elected the chairman. The report of Secretary Mack showed a deficiency in the budget, with expenditures exceeding receipts. Every cent that will be derived from the delinquent taxes will be required to meet this, and the problem which confronts the board is how to run the schools with the revenue to be derived from the reduced assessment. Last year the limit of three mills general and five mills special was reached. The board estimates that by the closest economy they can, with the five mill special levy, have but six months of school. With a seven mill levy, eight months could be had, but that requires a special election. If the voters want eight months of school, the board argues that the taxpayers must back up their promises with the tax.
“If that was true, and if majorities mean anything, the board ought not to hesitate, but ought to do its duty and call an election, and those who voted before ought to back up their promises with the tax.”
Education funding crises remain a constant in Washington state politics, often pitting property tax levies against the desire for robust school years. This 1894 struggle mirrors modern debates over local school levy reliance amidst shifting economic climates.
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