Reykdal: Use reliable sources for school funds

For decades, a small portion of state funds provided for K-12 school construction has come from revenue generated by school trust lands, primarily from the sale of timber.

These dollars, regardless of where they are generated, go into the Common School Construction Account. They are then distributed to school districts as part of the School Construction Assistance Program, which provides state funding for school construction when a local school district can offer matching dollars.

To provide local matching dollars, school districts often seek the support of their community and pass a bond, which requires 60 percent voter approval. Many districts across Washington struggle to pass bonds when needed. And for many districts in rural communities, even when voters do approve a local bond measure, the tax base does not generate enough funding to make all the critical improvements their school buildings need.

This is especially problematic for rural communities like those across Southwest Washington because, despite being the largest generator of timber revenues deposited in the Common School Construction Account, the majority of those resources end up benefiting districts in urban areas.

I’ve called on the Legislature to target trust revenues in more meaningful ways for our schools and state — primarily to benefit small rural school districts where the majority of trust revenue is generated.

In my proposal, timber revenue would be separated from the state’s construction matching program and the dollars would be retained in the communities in which they are generated, supporting rural districts with grant funds to modernize and improve school buildings.

At the same time, the state would maintain its support of urban districts currently benefiting from the School Construction Assistance Program with existing budget capacity that has been created by a slowdown in school construction statewide.

It’s time to fund school construction with more reliable sources of revenue and keep rural timber revenue within the community where it’s generated.

Chris Reykdal is the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction.