A bill sponsored by 19th Legislative District state Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, passed unanimously out of the state House on Wednesday. House Bill 1044 would provide assistance to small school districts in need of capital funds. According to McEntire, the idea for the legislation came from taking tours of the older, smaller schools in his district that are in poor condition and in need of repair.
"Unfortunately, in Washington state, students have different learning environments. In touring the small schools, I could see why it would be difficult to learn when your surroundings are run-down and in need of repair," said McEntire. "Capital funding is part of our primary obligation to fund education. With the passage of this bill, we are also hopeful it would incentivize school districts to pass their bond measures."
HB 1044 would provide funding to small school districts through a grant process based on need.
School districts would receive scores based on criteria related to need.
The districts whose scores indicate the most need would then receive grant money. To be eligible for grant funding, projects would have to correct critical physical deficiencies or essential safety concerns, such as modernizing, repairing, reconfiguring or replacing existing buildings and constructing new buildings.
Under the bill, a supplementary capital grant program would be created for districts with enrollments of 1,000 students or fewer. There would also be some requirements related to the distribution of the grant funds.
"I am pleased to see the bill pass with unanimous support. This is a bipartisan effort to improve our small schools across the state that have structural deficiencies or safety concerns with their infrastructure," McEntire said. "Our goal is to ensure that regardless of where students go to school, they have a quality learning environment."
HB 1044 now heads to the state Senate for consideration.
