Our Voice: Teacher pay key to meeting court order

Along the way toward fully funding basic education, a bi-partisan group of legislators recently submitted a report to the state Supreme Court outlining the progress they have made so far.

And while it is encouraging to know lawmakers are working on the issue, the trouble is they still have not figured out how to overcome the most challenging obstacle, which is school levy reform.

Specifically, lawmakers need to develop a better and more equitable teacher pay scale statewide — and that is an overwhelming task, both financially and politically.

But until this part of the solution is found, lawmakers will never be able to meet the court ordered requirements of the McCleary decision.

The state has, for too long, failed in its constitutional obligation to amply fund basic education. Instead, local taxes have been used to make up the difference so community members could provide the kind of education they wanted for their children.

In many school districts, that meant local money was used to support teacher salaries. But this has led to an unfair system that has gone on so long the disparity between teacher salaries in wealthier school districts and poor districts is now enormous.

For instance, a recent review shows that veteran teachers in the Everett School District earn the most in the state with a top base salary of $97,445. This is scheduled to rise to $103,000 for the 2017-18 school year under a new contract negotiated last year.

Representatives of the teachers union in Everett are quick to point out that in order for teachers to have that top salary, they must have 29 years of experience, a master’s degree and have earned at least 135 additional credits.

But even so, that high-end salary is way above the top state salary of $66,099 for teachers with 16 years experience and 90 credits or a doctorate. Most school districts around the state can’t compare with Everett and other school districts in Snohomish County, which have set the teacher pay scale bar incredibly high.

That’s not to say teachers don’t deserve good wages. The issue goes beyond what a dedicated teacher is worth.

This is an issue of equity, and how to find a way to make sure all students in the state are getting the best education possible at a price taxpayers can afford.

It doesn’t help that the cost of living in different parts of the state varies significantly. Some would argue that teachers in high-end areas need to earn more money just to have the kind of lifestyle their counterparts have in less affluent communities.

This is a complex issue. Some tough choices are going to have to be made by our lawmakers to fix the system.

Last session, the Legislature requested more data be collected showing how much local tax money is being used to fill the gap left by the state’s years of underfunding education.

Considering this is an election year for many legislators and the governor, we anticipate that not having hard numbers yet will be a way for candidates to avoid the topic.

It would be refreshing, though, if voters could get a sense of what position their elected officials might take on the issue. Even without the numbers, surely, they must have some idea of what strategy they might favor. It would be nice to know before Election Day what that is.

Teacher salaries are the key to lawmakers determining a way to comply with their constitutional obligation to amply fund basic education in our state. Legislators have known this for years, and the sooner they admit it and address it, the better.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 1:50 AM with the headline "Our Voice: Teacher pay key to meeting court order."