Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, received the Washington School Administrators Community Leadership Award for her efforts on behalf of the Federal Way school district.

The award recognizes outstanding contributions by community members or groups on the basis of their benefit to students, leadership, motivation, success, cooperation/coordination with local district, recognition by others and history of service.

“It’s always nice to be recognized for your efforts, but what makes this especially gratifying is that it’s in the area of education,” Eide said upon receiving the award. “My whole impetus for running for office in the first place was as a PTA mom, to improve support of our schools. I felt there was no better investment we could make, and I still believe that.”

Among Eide’s greatest legislative accomplishments was the passage of legislation to require a simple majority of votes to pass school levies instead of the supermajority requirement that regularly blocked efforts by school districts to raise revenues even when a majority of voters were in favor.

“Sen. Eide has been a consistent and vocal supporter of education during her years in the Legislature,” said Mark Davidson, the school district’s assistant superintendent.

“She is responsible for leading the effort to amend Article VII of the state Constitution so that school levy elections would be decided by a simple majority. This is one of the most profound changes in education funding in the history of the state of Washington.”

Since the passage of simple majority in 2008, two levies were passed by the Federal Way district that would not have passed if simple majority had not been in place, one by 56 percent and one by 57 percent. Each of those levies generates $53 million in additional funding to district schools. Statewide, one third of all school levies passed since 2008 are the result of simple majority, adding $1.6 billion in additional school funding through 247 levies.

“It took years and years of meetings and hearings and votes to get simple majority passed, but it was worth every minute of hard work that went into it,” Eide said. “Our schools are stronger today and our students are receiving better instruction and support because of it.”