Thesis
Why inequities in the state of Washington's school finance system exist: A critical theory perspective
Washington State University
Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Washington State University
05/2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004110
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/125051
Abstract
For decades, school districts within the State of Washington have become more and more reliant on school levies to fund schools' everyday operations. By the early 2000s, it was clear that the state's public school financing system was failing to meet its constitutional mandate to fully fund basic education. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled in McCleary, et ux., et al. v. State of Washington (2012) that the state had violated its constitutional duty. However, the state legislature dragged its feet for several years on the so-called "McCleary fix." Prior to the passage of additional funding earmarked for education in 2018, the legislature's multi-year inaction prompted the desire to research the inequities that exist in school levy funding across all 295 public school districts within the State of Washington. The research question guiding this study was, "Does the socioeconomic status, racial diversity, and Republican partisanship of local communities predict the local revenue share of financing K-12 public schools within the State of Washington?" This study used secondary data from the United States Census Bureau, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction - School Apportionment and Financial Services, and all 39 county election offices within the State of Washington. The study's longitudinal and critical theory approaches to quantitatively analyze school levy funding for public school districts across the State of Washington at three distinct points in time, specifically the years 2008, 2012, and 2016, captured fluctuations in the composition of local communities that proved useful in explaining why such disparities in school funding persist. The results of the study support the general principle of placing the sole burden of funding public education on the state because the results reveal that the school levy system perpetuates socioeconomic inequity, which is a driving factor in keeping the marginalized oppressed and maintaining the privileged position and power of the wealthy.
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Details
- Title
- Why inequities in the state of Washington's school finance system exist
- Creators
- Bryan Stebbins
- Contributors
- Paul Thiers (Advisor) - Washington State University, Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900890785501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis