Angry with state lawmakers’ lack of progress on education funding, Vashon’s teachers took to the streets with a rally in town on Saturday in an effort to send a message to Olympia.

“Apathy is the worst thing that could happen,” said Martha Woodard, president of the Vashon Education Association (VEA), the local teachers’ union. “Voters’ voices matter. We want to get the message out to the community so that our representatives know that people are still paying attention.”

State lawmakers are currently embroiled in a marathon second special legislative session called by Governor Jay Inslee at the end of May, tasked with passing a state budget. The budget must address education funding as mandated by the state Supreme Court’s McCleary decision of 2012, when the court ruled that the state had failed in its constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. And while an additional $1 billion was added for education during the 2013-15 legislative session, lawmakers were ordered by the court to draft a plan for how they intended to meet the 2018 deadline to fully fund public schools.

That plan was due at the end of April of last year, and the Legislature has yet to produce one.

“Education funding is really complex,” said State Senator and leader of the Senate Democrats Sharon Nelson (D-Maury Island). “There are so many levels and so many pieces. … It takes a lot of work.”

It’s work that many say hasn’t been getting done.

In September of last year, for the first time in its history, the state Supreme Court held the Legislature in contempt for failing to abide by the McCleary decision. Penalties were held, however, and lawmakers were given until the end of the 2015 session to comply.

Now, Nelson says lawmakers are meeting twice a day with the governor as well as caucus leaders to try to agree on a funding plan.

“Everyone is working in good faith right now,” she said. “I’m optimistic we’ll get the job done by the end of the session.”

While the Supereme Court has not specified what will happen if the Legislature again fails to come up with a plan, it will require a written explanation for the failure from lawmakers no later than one day after the final day of the session.

It is in this final push for results that Vashon’s teachers hope to make themselves and the local community heard.

“If we don’t continue to put pressure on Olympia for the things we want, then they’ll just compromise to get the budget through,” Woodard said. “So now is the perfect time to let them know that we care how this gets played out. We don’t want something slapped together simply to meet the deadline.”

About 50 Vashon teachers, administrators — including Superintendent Michael Soltman — parents and children came together on Saturday to get the message out. Gathered on each corner of the four-way stop in town with signs and fliers, the group aimed to urge islanders to contact state representatives and tell them to fund education and support teachers.

Indeed, one of several chants they shouted Saturday afternoon was “Now, not later, it’s time to call your legislator.”

Fliers listed the group’s four demands: for the Legislature to comply with the McCleary decision; for action on Initiative 1351 to lower class sizes, which passed last fall; for standardized testing to not be tied to teacher evaluations, and for teachers to receive better pay and health benefits.

Nelson confirmed that it has been about six years since the state has offered teachers a cost-of-living salary increase, though Vashon’s school district has funded increases on its own.

The Vashon School District’s annual budget is roughly $18 million, $10.2 million of which has come from the state, according to Soltman. For years, the schools have filled the funding gaps with local levies and, more recently, funding from the Vashon Schools Foundation.

“What we need is an operating budget that has strong funding for K-12, investments in early learning and higher education and hopefully a transportation package,” Nelson said. “And a capital budget for communities and schools … to move away from local levies.”

Soltman said he participated in the rally because he agrees that the state needs to take action.

“The administration agrees with VEA on all of these points,” he said. “We expect the Legislature should follow through on these commitments, and this was a positive rally to bring public awareness to the issues as opposed to interrupting school with a walkout. They have been nothing but professional about this.”

While teachers in 65 school districts around the state have staged walkouts to get their message across, the VEA voted unanimously against any school disruption, Woodard said, citing a desire to not hurt students and families.

“We didn’t want to do any harm,” she said, “but did want to show our solidarity with our fellow teachers and districts, so we decided to go with the rally.”

Of further concern for the district is the possibility that the Legislature might not complete its budget by the June 30 deadline. The district must complete its own budget by July 10, and there’s been talk of a state government shutdown should there not be a budget agreement.

“It will present an interesting dilemma. … It’s unprecedented,” Soltman said. “I have no idea what would actually happen.”

Describing the potential situation as “needless chaos,” Soltman also said he believes that the current pressure and looming threat of a shutdown will get things done, though not without frustration on the district’s part.

“This is an $18 million business,” he explained. “We plan all spring and try our best to make rough estimates, but we have no idea what we’ve got to work with yet, if anything. It’s an inefficient and ridiculous way to make a business plan.”

Ultimately, participants saw the one-hour rally on Saturday as a success, citing a strong turnout and support from the community. Many who drove through the intersection that afternoon honked and waved.

In the end, Woodard said, those who rallied hope that their message gets to Olympia, one way or another. Their flier listed contact information for Vashon’s three legislators: Nelson, Rep. Eileen Cody and Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon.

“Education problems have been building in this state for years, and it’s all coming to a head now due to the McCleary decision,” she said. “But we need to stop leaving the districts with the burden of unfunded mandates. Some legislators say that there isn’t enough money to fund everything, but VEA feels that these issues have been around for long enough to have seen them coming. There’s no excuse for not being prepared to deal with the court’s orders.”