Washington State Tax Fact #8: More Spending Doesn’t Mean Better Education

Both sides of the I-884 tax hike issue agree that quality education is important. However, supporters of the I-884 tax increase will not debate ways to improve the use of existing education funds. In fact, nationally, the Evergreen State already ranks 15th in state spending on K-12 education. Washington spends $9,454 per public school student– on average that’s $2,000 to $5,000 more than private school per student spending.

A tax increase should be the last resort. The first place to start: doing more with the funds Washington is currently spending. Less than half of education spending actually goes towards basic instruction, while central administrators earn average salaries of $89,027. Washington’s schools should practice better fiscal discipline before socking taxpayers with a billion dollar tax hike.

One way to create more accountability in the system is school choice, which gives parents a scholarship to send their children to any public or private school they choose. School choice would inject competition into Washington’s education system by forcing schools to compete.

Throwing money at schools won’t make them better– Washington should try education reforms like school choice before resorting to a huge tax increase.

For more information, please visit http://www.freedomworks.org/washington