On July 19, 2016, Randy Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, filed a complaint with King County Superior Court challenging the state-wide practice of using local levy funds for staff salaries. Our district was one of seven listed as a defendant in this lawsuit.
The goal of this lawsuit appears to be forcing the State Legislature to take action and fully fund education. We strongly disagree with this approach, especially the singling out of seven districts.
The Bellevue School District has the highest quality of education in large part due to the great support of our community through the passage of local levies. The State Legislature has authorized all districts in our state to use local levy funding to establish contracts and pay supplemental teacher salaries. Bellevue has used this authority to attract outstanding teachers and to pay them a living wage for their high quality work. We have negotiated fair, competitive wages to attract and retain quality professionals, who prepare our students to succeed in college, career and life.
At this time, we are reviewing the complaint and are determining what steps to take moving forward, including working with the other districts identified and wrongfully targeted in the suit. As new and relevant information becomes available, we will keep you and our community apprised of these developments.