Panelist warns public education funding has slipped since McCleary; performance and district finances cited

During introductions and early remarks at the Bellevue forum, Sandeep Kaushik, partner at Soundview Strategies, raised concerns about the state of public education in Washington, citing the McCleary decision (Washington State Supreme Court, 2012) as background.

Kaushik said the percentage of the state budget directed to K–12 education peaked around 2019 and has fallen since then, and he argued that several districts now face fiscal stress that is not receiving enough public attention. "There were a lot of back and forth and...the McCleary decision that ... Olympia was not fulfilling its constitutional mandate to treat education as the paramount duty of the state," Kaushik said, describing the issue as an under‑discussed but serious problem.

Representative Larry Springer acknowledged problems in K–12 outcomes alongside high teacher compensation levels, saying the system has "the highest paid teachers...and some of the worst educational outcomes," and conceded he could not explain all of the causes within the forum’s scope; he emphasized the need for better metrics and accountability to judge whether new spending is producing results.

Panelists linked the education concern to broader budget decisions: if the legislature continues to expand recurring costs without clear performance metrics, they said, voters and lawmakers will find it hard to judge fiscal choices. No legislative action was taken at the event; speakers framed the issue as a call for renewed attention to outcomes and funding prioritization.

Panelists referenced McCleary and past bipartisan attempts at funding reform, but did not propose specific statutory fixes during the forum.