Jim Kowalkowski: Legislature should retain equitable teacher funding tools

The Washington Legislature is engaged in a special session to finish the work of developing a K-12 basic education funding plan that meets the requirement of the state Supreme Court’s ruling in the McCleary lawsuit. As a school superintendent serving a small and rural district in Eastern Washington, I (along with many other superintendents from across the state) urge our lawmakers to retain two of the good things about our current funding system: The Salary Allocation Model (SAM) and “staff mix.”

While our education funding system clearly needs significant improvement, it is essential that these two “equalizers” remain as key components. Let me explain why.

The current salary allocation model (SAM) is used by almost every school district in the state. It is a schedule that’s been used for many years to reflect levels of educational attainment. This schedule, along with staff mix, ensures that the base salary for a teacher is the same, whether in a small, rural district like mine, or in a larger urban or suburban district. Though larger districts may be able to provide additional compensation with their local levy funds, at least smaller districts can offer a base salary that is comparable to other larger districts.

The staff mix is a weighted table that reflects a school district’s average certificated staff experience and education. What this does for districts is provide a mechanism whereby we can hire the best teacher candidate we can find and not worry whether the state will cover the cost. The SAM and the staff mix work to provide each district with enough funding to cover the base salary of a teacher, regardless of the experience or education level of that teacher.

So then why all the fuss about teacher salaries being too low? That is the essential question of our times! The current SAM and the staff mix are funded on a base salary allocation that is too low. Hence, many districts are using local levy dollars to augment salaries. This has created significant inequities in our state. Districts with a low tax rate because of high property values are often able to raise substantially more dollars for salary enhancement than districts that have lower property values.

The House and Senate have both developed education funding plans that raise the starting salary of teachers. That is a good thing. However, salaries need to also be raised for teachers all along the career continuum. That is where a SAM and a robust staff mix come into play.

Legislators should not throw out the baby with the bathwater!. A simplified salary allocation model would be a good thing, as long as a fair and equitable staff mix formula is included. All students in our state deserve great teachers and a great education regardless of their zip code.

A SAM and a staff mix formula are two essential funding mechanisms that need to be retained so that smaller and rural districts have a fighting chance to provide our students with the education they need and our teachers the fair compensation they deserve.