In the ongoing debate over spending on K-12 schools in Washington state, some people continue to argue that schools are underfunded. I thought it would be helpful to report the recent growth in school funding in the state’s largest district, Seattle Public Schools (SPS). In addition, below Seattle’s numbers, I’ve also reported the Legislature’s recent increase in spending on all K-12 schools in the state.

Total operating expenditures:

• In 2010, SPS spent $529.6 million
• In 2011, SPS spent $544.8 million
• In 2012, SPS spent $569.8 million
• In 2013, SPS spent $611.6 million
• In 2014, SPS spent $648.1 million
• In 2015, SPS spent $753.1 million
• In 2016, SPS budgets to spend $790 million

Total number of employees:

• In 2010, SPS had 5089 employees
• In 2011, SPS had 5161 employees
• In 2012, SPS had 5321 employees
• In 2013, SPS had 5605 employees
• In 2014, SPS had 5931 employees
• In 2015, SPS had 6071 employees
• In 2016, SPS budgets for 6317 employees

Total spending per student:

• In 2010, SPS spent $11,921 per student
• In 2011, SPS spent $11,769 per student
• In 2012, SPS spent $11,980 per student
• In 2013, SPS spent $12,479 per student
• In 2014, SPS spent $12,919 per student
• In 2015, SPS spent $14,745 per student
• In 2016, SPS budgets to spend $15,015 per student

Seattle’s numbers provide a reference point for discussing future school operating spending. 

But Seattle Public Schools is not the only district to benefit from this funding surge. In 2016-17, the state will be providing every school district $9,024 per student (see Footnote 29 of Senator Hill’s Paramount Duty series here). This represents an increase of $2,385 per student since 2011-12, as is evident from this government report, here. This means that in 2016-17 districts will receive on average $12,675 per student from all state, local and federal revenue sources, the highest amount ever, as shown here.  

This huge increase in state funding is the Legislature’s response to the 2012 McCleary ruling. Specifically, the Legislature added $4.6 billion to K-12 spending in the 2013 and 2015 biennial budgets, reaching $18.2 billion in the current budget, a permanent increase of 34%.

For those interested in learning how much their local school district budget has grown, I recommend the Workload/Staffing/Finance reports available at this government website:  https://fiscal.wa.gov/K12Districts.aspx