OLYMPIA — The state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council on Wednesday adopted a new budget outlook that includes an estimate that the state will spend more than $5 billion through 2021 to comply with a court order on education funding.
The outlook was adopted over the objections of Republican lawmakers on the council, who argued that a task force is still working to determine the actual amount that needs to be spent, and that the outlook shouldn’t include estimates for policies that have not yet been enacted by the Legislature.
“Why are we making a number at all when we know we have more work to do?” Republican Sen. John Braun of Centralia asked after the hearing. “Let’s focus on the work and get the right outcome.”
Lawmakers return to the Capitol in January as the state continues to be under a contempt order by the state Supreme Court. The court has given the state until Sept. 1, 2018, to fully fund education, but it has ordered that the details of how to do that — as well as how lawmakers will pay for it — must be in place before the Legislature adjourns next year.
Lawmakers have already put more than $2 billion toward basic education since the ruling. But the biggest piece remaining of the court order is figuring out how much the state must provide for teacher salaries. School districts currently pay a chunk of those salaries with local property-tax levies.
The forecast council’s report came a day after the Legislature’s education funding task force received a consultant report that showed that local school districts on average use local property taxes to pay each teacher nearly $14,000 over and above what the state provides for salaries.
Ultimately, it will be up to lawmakers to determine how much of the supplemental pay counts under the state’s definition of “basic” education and what might be extra spending that wouldn’t fall under the state’s purview. The bipartisan education funding task force is charged with determining a final state price tag, as well as making recommendations on how to fund the state’s education requirements.
David Schumacher, the director of the Office of Financial Management and member of the forecast council, noted during Wednesday’s meeting the outlook adopted has a footnote that makes clear that the education expenditures are just an assumption.
“To have it as a starting point as we begin to build a budget, I think it’s helpful to have this as part of the outlook along with all of the other drivers we have to face,” he said.
The outlook was released along with the state’s updated revenue forecast for Washington state’s current two-year budget cycle, which showed that the state is projected to bring in $354 million more in taxes than expected through the middle of 2019.
The projected overall state budget for 2017-19 is expected to be $41.3 billion.
Gov. Jay Inslee is preparing a supplemental budget proposal to be released next month. The House and Senate will then each present their two-year budget proposals during the scheduled 105-day legislative session that begins Jan. 9.
