AN ACT Relating to investing in the state's paramount duty to fund K-12 education and build strong and safe communities by modifying the state and local property tax authority and adjusting the school funding formula;
Summary
HB2049 is a Washington education-funding bill that increases school district levy authority and revises the state’s school funding formulas. It changes the limits on local enrichment levies, updates how those levies are calculated, and requires districts to obtain approval of an enrichment levy expenditure plan before submitting a levy proposition to voters. The bill also modifies the state’s local effort assistance program, which is designed to supplement levy revenue in districts with lower property wealth, and creates special treatment for state-tribal education compact schools and certain district enrollment situations.
The bill further directs the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to convene a K-12 funding equity work group. That work group must examine the effects of per-pupil funding formulas, local revenue, compensation factors, funding distribution trends, economic disparities, and current formulas that benefit specific student populations. It must report annually to the Legislature with options for revising state and local school funding formulas, including possible student weights, tax authority changes, and accountability metrics. The section establishing the work group expires in December 2030.
Impact
HB2049 amends multiple sections of Washington law governing school district enrichment levies and local effort assistance, including RCW provisions tied to levy limits, levy equalization, and school funding calculations. It also creates a new statutory section requiring OSPI to study and report on funding equity options. The bill affects school districts, taxpayers, OSPI, the Legislature, and districts participating in state-tribal education compacts or innovation academies, while preserving separate treatment for certain capital and transportation levies.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have had generally favorable but closely divided support. It passed the House and Senate, but the House floor vote was narrow at 50-48, suggesting significant partisan or policy division. Committee votes were more comfortable but still not unanimous, indicating broad interest in school funding reform alongside meaningful disagreement over the scope and mechanics of the changes.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely the expansion and restructuring of local school levy authority, the effect on property-tax burdens, and how much the state should rely on local revenues versus state equalization. The bill’s changes to levy caps and local effort assistance may be viewed differently by districts with high property wealth and those with limited tax base, creating winners and losers across regions. The new work group also signals that the funding formula remains unsettled, which may have drawn support from reform advocates but concern from those wary of further study, added bureaucracy, or future tax and funding changes.
Crossfiled
AN ACT Relating to investing in the state's paramount duty to fund K-12 education and build strong and safe communities by modifying the state and local property tax authority and adjusting the school funding formula;
Provide for military impact funding and change provisions relating to local formula resources under the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act
AN ACT Relating to increasing the flexibility of existing funding sources to fund public safety and other facilities by modifying the local real estate excise tax;
Improving public safety funding by providing resources to local governments and state and local criminal justice agencies, and authorizing a local option tax.
Interim study to examine the financing of public education through the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act formula and develop recommendations for improving school funding in Nebraska