State Supreme Court Violating Separation of Powers on Funding of Education
Ya gotta love Washington politics. One could write a large book about the bizarre happenings in our dear state. The most disconcerting one is the ongoing saga of the Washington Supreme Court and public education.
A few months ago I wrote a letter saying we have entered an era of “A Dictatorship of the Judiciary.” I thought there might be some response in The Chronicle, but there was not. I subsequently wrote to the Supreme Court asking on what basis they could presume to tell the Legislature how much money to spend on anything, let alone schools. In response I received a copy of the McCleary decision. After laboring through the long and verbose document, I found three small paragraphs where they claimed that power.
The logic used was tortuous at best. Because the state constitution says the “state” is responsible for funding schools and the court is part of the “state,” they claimed they are equal partners with the Legislature and governor in determining how and how much should be spent on schools. For those that slept through history classes, each of the three branches has specific duties, and passing laws and appropriating money is not one of the court’s duties.
I wrote back to the Supreme Court pointing out I thought the justices had overstepped their bounds. A curt reply from a functionary stated that the justices did not listen to comment about active cases. In layman’s language that means go away and don’t bother us.
An attendee at the last state bar meeting heard the chief justice say “they no longer do the law, they do justice.” Again, in layman’s language, that means they are claiming the power that only belongs to the Legislature.
Because of what the court is doing, the rules for campaigns for courts need to change. Those running should be made to discuss their philosophy and positions on issues of the day instead of hiding behind the rule that says they cannot discuss their position.
I am still waiting for legislators of both parties to stand together and tell the Supreme Court to mind its judicial duties and leave the legislating to the Legislature. The citizens also need to insist it’s judicial business only. Even if you think the schools should have more money to spend, one needs to remember every time there is a statewide vote on funding some school program, it fails. The voters of Washington love new programs, but do not vote to fund them.
This state spends a lot of money on schools, and not always efficiently. There are a number of proven procedures and methods that are proven to improve student performance, but many are long gone because of court decisions. The solution is not always more money.
A final suggestion. If schools are the most important duty of the state (they take about half the budget), let the Supreme Court take a cut and spend it on schools. I would guess in that case the court would say they are more important than the schools. A challenge to them.
Dave Fenn
Curtis
