Initiative on school spending dies

A statewide initiative that would have required school districts to spend 65 percent of their budgets in the classroom is dead, its organizer said Wednesday.

Backers of Initiative 924 had yet to gather one signature, but they had already lined up a number of opponents, including state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson, the state teachers union and the League of Education Voters.

Sponsor Brian Janssen said his message had resonated with voters, but he was unable to drum up the financial support to gather the required 224,880 signatures to get the measure placed on the November ballot. He estimated that the campaign would have cost up to $1 million.

According to filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission, Janssen's group, First Class Education, had raised $9,100 in cash donations, the majority of it financed by Janssen.

"This was a good way to get that dialogue going about how those dollars are spent ...," Janssen said. "But I don't think there was a sense of immediacy."

The measure would have required school districts to spend at least 65 cents of every dollar on classroom expenditures, which would have been defined to include teachers' salaries, field trips and athletics.

Washington ranks 38th in the nation, spending slightly more than 59 cents of every dollar on classroom instruction, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Proponents said the 65 percent initiative would have meant more than $400 million a year in extra resources in classrooms, which in turn would have boosted academic achievement.

But some state leaders and education advocates had warned that the initiative would devastate school budgets. They pointed out that the proposal excluded critical educational expenses such as curriculum development, teacher training, building maintenance and salaries for nurses and counselors.

Opponents already had raised more than $15,000 to fight the 65 percent measure.

"We're pleased we were able to prevent a full-blown, costly, distracting initiative campaign this fall," said Charles Hasse, president of the Washington Education Association, the union representing teachers statewide.

The real issue, he said, is the chronic underfunding of schools -- which can't be solved by a gimmick.

"Sixty-five percent of an inadequate amount is still not going to be enough," he said.

Janssen, a Seattle philanthropist and stay-at-home father, said he still hoped to revive the initiative in the next year or two, either by lobbying state legislators or pushing another initiative.

Janssen's organization is part of a national advocacy group, First Class Education, which aims to pass similar measures in all 50 states by 2008.

In the past year, a few states have adopted 65 percent measures, and several others are considering similar measures. Janssen hopes there will soon be data from those states to help persuade people to support the 65 percent measure here.

If nothing else, the idea got people in Washington talking, "and that's a good thing," he said. "That could soften the ground for this in the future."

P-I reporter Jessica Blanchard can be reached at 206-448-8322 or jessicablanchard@seattlepi.com.

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