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Washington lawmakers held in contempt on education

By WTOP Staff

DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday holding the Legislature in contempt for its lack of progress on fixing the way the state pays for public education but withheld possible punishment until after the 2015 session.

The court promised to reconvene and impose sanctions and other remedial measures if lawmakers do not make plans to solve the problem by the end of that session.

Possible sanctions include fines for the Legislature or individual lawmakers, having the court rewrite the state budget, and revoking tax exemptions.

Gov. Jay Inslee said no one should be surprised by the court’s order.

“I urged lawmakers to act this year and agreed with the court that we must do more to adequately fund education, which I believe is both a constitutional and moral obligation,” Inslee said.

The cost of those reforms has been estimated at $4 billion or more in each biennial state budget. The Legislature has been struggling to find the money to pay for the changes since the economic downturn.

In its most recent budget, lawmakers added about $1 billion in education funding. However, the split Legislature — Republicans control the Senate, Democrats the House — has been unable to reach agreement over where to cut elsewhere or how to raise taxes to fully satisfy the court.

And lawmakers are already staring at a budget shortfall.

The governor’s budget office has said that without including the McCleary decision, the projected shortfall for the next spending period is nearly $1 billion. To fully satisfy the court on education, that deficit could be up to $3 billion for the 2015-17 biennium.

A statement signed by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen said the high court was not impressed by the state’s presentation at a hearing in Olympia that explained the Legislature’s lack of progress toward paying all the costs of basic education.

“The court has no doubt that it already has the Legislature’s ‘attention,'” she wrote. “Contempt is the means by which a court enforces compliance with its lawful orders when they are not followed.”

The state Supreme Court ruled in January that Washington’s system of education funding is unconstitutional. It gave the Legislature until the 2017-18 school year to fix the problem that was presented to the court in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of teachers, parents, students and community groups.

The coalition’s attorney, Thomas Ahearne, said that Thursday’s order was as good as he could hope for because the 2014-15 school year has started and a special legislative session probably wouldn’t help kids this year.

“It wipes out all the excuses that legislators tell themselves why they don’t have to do anything,” Ahearne said.

The order says that if the Legislature does not fix the problem, the court and attorneys will talk after the session about what kind of punishment to impose.

Most states have faced lawsuits over the way they pay for education, but few have seen that conflict result in a contempt order.

In 1976, New Jersey’s Supreme Court ordered public schools shut down for eight days over the summer after lawmakers failed to put more money into education. That crisis resulted in the adoption of a state income tax.

The Washington court’s order is “a little more drastic than we’ve seen in some of the other states,” said Robert F. Williams, associate director of the Center for State Constitutional Studies at the Rutgers University law school.

In the original McCleary decision, the high court commended lawmakers for passing reforms in the K-12 system and for starting to pay for them. Now, they have to finish paying for those reforms and stop relying on local tax-levy dollars to pay for some of the expenses of basic education, the court said.

Among the reforms awaiting money are all-day kindergarten in every school; more instructional hours for high school students to help them earn 24 credits to graduate; pupil transportation fully supported by state dollars; a new formula for school staffing levels and smaller class sizes; and more state support for school equipment and supplies.

____

AP reporters Gene Johnson in Seattle and Rachel La Corte in Olympia contributed to this story.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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