By Angie Vogt, political commentary

I propose a new ordinance banning lawyer jokes for Federal Way.

For now at least, lawyers, in particular two lawyers, are my heroes. If you haven’t heard the latest, the Federal Way School District, represented by attorney Buzz Porter (hero number 2), has taken the state to court. He won their case in a summary judgment that ruled that the state’s form of funding school employee salaries is inequitable and, in fact, unconstitutional.

This court action was prompted by school board member Dave Larson, a lawyer himself (hero number 1), who took the time to research why Federal Way receives $6.5 million less than the Everett school district and in fact, receives less than the bottom 10th percentile of state funding (out of 296 school districts) in spite of being the seventh largest school district in the state. He uncovered a labyrinth of funding inequities leftover from 1970s-era judgments against the state that have yet to be addressed.

It was a strategic decision to only pursue the salary inequities at this point, choosing to narrowly focus on one education injustice at a time. A stroke of attorney genius.

What do these “funding inequities” mean to Federal Way taxpayers? In concrete terms, it means that the state allocates just enough funding for Federal Way to offer among the lowest salaries for its school employees in the state.

For example, currently, state funding only allows Federal Way to pay its principals and school superintendent a $54,000 annual salary as compared to $81,000 in other districts. For our district to attract good school administrators and teachers, taxpayers have to fund the difference with increased property taxes. If Federal Way received even the average amount received by the other districts in the state, it could mean an additional $12 million per year — that’s $12 million less in property tax increases and school levy proposals. Think about how much more can be accomplished if the school board and district employees were not regularly saddled with levy campaigns?

The state’s founders wrote into the state constitution the following clause: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders …” and to “provide for a general and uniform system of public schools” through adequate funding. While there is some gray area in defining “ample provision,” we can say for certain that the current form of state funding is anything but uniform. It is a 1970s relic of bureaucratic formulas that has left us with arbitrary and incoherent disbursements of funds.

In 1978, the State Supreme Court ruled that forcing school districts to rely on levies to fund basic education was deemed unconstitutional. It’s only because we have a lawyer on our school board (Larson) that this is coming back to light.

The ongoing battle that school districts face in our state to fund their K-12 school systems is a disgrace. On Nov. 6, the majority of Washington state voters turned down EHJR 4204, the proposed constitutional amendment that would have made it easier for school levies to pass by requiring only a simple majority. Voters turned it down, not because they think school districts are overfunded, nor because they are stingy misers, but because they refuse to enable a dysfunctional system of school funding.

Now, because of the moxie of a

couple of attorneys, backed by our Superintendent Tom Murphy, this system is getting called into question, yet again.

I know people who consider it their duty to vote against every school levy that comes up because they refuse to let the state Legislature continue in its negligence. It’s a painful process kicking the sleepy giant awake, but it’s been, what many consider, a necessary evil (much the way lawyers are often portrayed).

In this case, two local lawyers are advocating for long overdue justice. I wonder if we can get reimbursed for pain and suffering.

The question now remains, as we enter the 2008 election cycle, will our Legislature address this negligence, or will it continue to blow through our former achieved budget surplus with wasteful, special interest spending as it did in the 2007 session? Stay tuned… details at 11.

Federal Way resident Angie Vogt can be reached at vogt.e@comcast.net.