SPOKANE, Wash — A report saying Spokane Public Schools is spending $15,000 per student, and the teachers union still wants more money from local tax payers has made its rounds online.
An article published by the Washington Policy Center makes the claim that the district has spent thousands more on education in recent years, yet the Washington Education Association still wants the state to allow more local revenue to be collected from property taxes.
KREM reached out to the Washington State Board of Education, the State Office of Financial Management and the Spokane School District. All three pointed to data from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
VERIFY: Yes, SPS plans to spend about $15,000 per student next year
According to an OSPI report card, during the 2017-2018 school year Spokane Public Schools reported spending $13,425 per student. There were 30,891 students enrolled.
OSPI contributed data to a state fiscal report that covers the last five school years. The reports shows for the school year of 2018-2019 Spokane Public Schools budgeted to spend $15,438 per student.
According to the fiscal report, during the 2014-2015 the cost per student was $11,415. The following three years the costs per student were $12,149 (2015-16), $12,680 (2016-17), $13,751 (2017-18).
The report also revealed 13 districts similar in size to Spokane budgeted similar amounts for the 2018-2019 school year. Those other districts also spent more money per student over the last few years.
An OSPI spokesperson said the numbers for 2018-2019 are not final yet. The spokesperson said OSPI will not have federal spending numbers until next fall.
Using the federal expenditure from the 2017-2018 school year and the estimated state and local expenditure for 2018-2019 OSPI estimates the Spokane School District spending $14,800 per student this school year.
The numbers vary from different data collection reports, but they are not far off from the $15,000 per student stated in Washington Policy Center’s article.
VERIFY: Yes, the teacher's union supports raising property tax caps
Washington Education Association’s Eastern Executive Board President Vicky Jensen confirmed the teachers union supports raising the cap on local levees. The cap was put in place when the state agreed to fully fund basic education.
Jensen said until special education and other mandates are funded districts should be able to generate more local funding through levees.
"The legislature is still working on adding extra funding for special ed and some of those other programs and wrap around support services, but until that's done our districts need to have a little more autonomy,” Jensen said.
Jensen said voters should be able to decide how much they are willing to pay for education.