school funding

Just minutes away from busy Pacific Avenue in Pierce County, the Franklin Pierce School district administration office sits inside a nondescript, gray building. Inside, a group of women are gathered in a conference room Thursday morning, eating brightly colored Pan Dulce, laughing and sharing their trials and tribulations. Blanca Sagastizado, a family resource navigator for the district, floats around the group of moms – hugging them, catching up and offering tea and coffee.

Gov. Brad Little announced a plan Friday to pump another $150 million of CARES Act money into supporting schools. If approved, that would push education-related CARES Act spending past the $300 million mark.

A federal judge says U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos overstepped in trying to send more CARES Act money to help students at private schools.

Reclaim Idaho hopes to put its initiative on the November ballot. It would require the state to raise state income taxes for corporations and people who make more than $250,000 a year. The money would be routed to public schools.

Reclaim Idaho suspended face-to-face signature gathering for the initiative on March 18, days after Idaho reported its first case of coronavirus. The group sued on June 8, saying that Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney refused to provide the group an alternative path to pursuing a voter initiative during the pandemic.

For some districts, the stakes are particularly high. A year ago, after a failed levy, Kamiah was forced to close its middle school. In other districts, the proposals are familiar, reruns of levies voters have approved for years. But the Nampa School District is taking a second run at a levy, four months after a proposal fell a scant 11 votes short of passing.

The Washington House passed its first bill on the third day of this legislative session. It would require high poverty schools to offer breakfast after the start of the school day and is a priority for Democrats.

Washington state lawmakers will likely have to come up with an extra $1 billion for schools when they convene in January for the 2018 session.The…

Despite what state lawmakers say, Washington’s next budget doesn’t fully fund schools. That’s the opinion of the lawyer who sued the state in 2007 over…

Details are emerging about the budget Washington state lawmakers plan to pass before midnight Friday. Over the next four years, schools in Washington will…