It’s a tough call — whether the school district should ask parents for money to help salvage a public school system struggling because of our political failures at nearly all levels of government. The worry, of course, is that little by little we’re chipping away at one of the pillars that upholds our democratic ideals — universal education.
In this day and age when so much is privatized, it’s a radical and powerful notion that every child is entitled to 12 to 13 years of quality education. But when you start adding up the many costs parents are shouldering — athletic fees, field trip fees, art supply fees and now, possibly, $150 for each child they’ve enrolled in the Vashon Island School District — we begin to see the degree to which our concept of free, universal, broad-based education is beginning to erode.
What’s important to note in board member Laura Wishik’s plan, however, is that it’s voluntary. Parents may feel some pressure. But the plan, tweaked after some board members expressed concerns that some may feel shamed into giving, no longer calls for a one-on-one effort to get every parent to give. Rather, letters will be sent out and reminder calls made. But that’s it. Give if you like. Don’t if you can’t.
The result is that the district might not raise as much money. But the result is also that parents who can’t afford to pay $150 per child — or who, for political or philosophical reasons, oppose the plan — can quietly opt out.
It’s also important to note that our school board, as well as our legislative delegation, appears to be fully committed to legislative reforms that could shore up our ailing public schools. The board seems to know that Wishik’s plan amounts to fingers in the dike — an important but short-term effort to stave off increasingly painful cuts.
And the most significant reform this state could undertake to shore up our schools is actually beginning to be spoken aloud by leading political figures. Just last week, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, who’s eyeing a run for governor, called for a state income tax targeted at those who make $250,000 or more — a move that could bring between $500 million and $1.5 billion per biennium to state coffers.
Were Brown’s proposal to become reality, we just might be able to fully fund our children’s education, take our fingers out of the dike and once again fully embrace the concept of universal education.
