The Washington State Supreme Court heard the State's appeal of the successful NEWS (Network for Excellence in Washington Schools) trial judgment on Tuesday, June 28.
NEWS filed the suit in January 2007 on behalf of the McCleary and Venema families. (The Venema family is from the Snohomish School District.) What's become known as McCleary v. State was heard in a seven-week trial in King County Superior Court in the fall of 2009. The trial judge issued the court's final ruling in February 2010 - holding that NEWS had proven its case on virtually every point. The court declared that the State of Washington was in violation of its constitutionally mandated "paramount duty" to amply provide for the education of all children in our State.
The State promptly appealed and took the position that it does not have to comply with the court's ruling until the Washington Supreme Court rules on the appeal. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the appeal on June 28. A ruling is expected later this year.
“This court is left with no doubt that ... the State is failing in its constitutional duty,” Washington State Superior Court Judge John Erlick said in his Feb. 4, 2010, ruling. “State funding is not ample, it is not stable, and it is not dependable." The ruling further states, "Local school districts continue to rely on local levies and other non-State resources to supplement state funding for a basic program of education.”
The judge's full ruling, a two-page summary of the ruling, data sheets showing the extent to which the state is underfunding schools (including Snohomish), and much more are all available at www.waschoolexcellence.org.