Wash. Supreme Court Overturns School Salary Ruling

DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP

SEATTLE (AP) — Variation in the way Washington teachers and other school staff are paid does not pose a constitutional problem, the Washington Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

In overturning a King County Superior Court ruling in a case brought three years ago by the Federal Way School District, the court said cost of living differences account for most of the uneven distribution of state money to school districts.

While Federal Way receives the lowest school salary money from the state, the court said that the Legislature has been steadily closing the gap between districts.

Voters, however, worked against the plan when they passed Initiative 732 mandating uniform yearly cost of living increases without regard to salary difference. Those uniform salary increases widened salary gaps between school districts, the court noted in its ruling written by Justice James M. Johnson.

The biggest disparity among salaries is for administrators. While four school districts were given enough money to pay administrators a base salary of $84,362, Federal Way and 88 other districts received $57,986 per administrator from the state.