Washington State Tax Fact #11: Current Education Spending is Inefficient

Proponents of the billion dollar I-884 tax hike argue that the 15.4 percent increase in sales taxes would provide schools with “much-needed” resources. What’s really needed is more responsible spending—less than half of all money spent on education in Washington currently goes towards basic instruction, according to the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

In fact, school districts in Washington spent $9.2 billion during the 2002-2003 school year. The problem is not the amount of funding, but the way that money is spent. For example, Washington ranks 4th highest in the nation in per capita spending on buildings and maintenance. Existing funds are not being spent efficiently.

Washington needs to look hard at current spending priorities before asking taxpayers for a 15.4 percent increase in the state sales tax. Let’s work to get more existing resources into the classroom before raising taxes by a billion dollars.

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