Washington school board elections, 2017

Elections

A total of 34 Washington school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2017 for 77 seats. All of the general elections were scheduled on November 7, 2017.

Here are several quick facts about Washington's school board elections in 2017:

• The largest Washington school district by enrollment with an election in 2017 was Seattle Public Schools with 52,834 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
• The smallest Washington school district among the nation's largest with an election in 2017 was the South Kitsap School District with 9,649 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.

The districts listed below served 636,162 K-12 students during the 2014-2015 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Click on the district names for more information on each one and its school board elections.

2017 Washington School Board Elections
District	Primary Election	General Election	Runoff Election	Regular term (years)	Seats up for election	Total board seats	2014-15 enrollment
Auburn School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	15,481
Battle Ground School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	3	5	13,526
Bellevue School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	19,456
Bellingham School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	11,117
Bethel School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	18,420
Central Kitsap School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	11,086
Central Valley School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	13,111
Clover Park School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	12,650
Edmonds School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	20,847
Everett Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	1	6	19,615
Evergreen Public Schools (Clark)	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	26,526
Federal Way Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	22,501
Highline Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	19,288
Issaquah School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	19,405
Kennewick School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	17,382
Kent School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	27,877
Lake Washington School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	27,059
Marysville School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	11,420
Mead School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	9,733
Mukilteo School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	15,128
North Thurston Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	3	5	14,748
Northshore School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	4	5	20,881
Olympia School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	3	5	9,756
Pasco School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	3	5	17,100
Puyallup School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	21,644
Renton School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	15,568
Richland School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	12,627
Seattle Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	3	7	52,834
Snohomish School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	4	5	10,115
South Kitsap School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	3	5	9,649
Spokane Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	6	2	5	30,641
Tacoma Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	6	2	5	29,426
Vancouver Public Schools	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	23,487
Yakima School District	8/01/2017	11/7/2017	K.A.	4	2	5	16,058

Academic performance

See also: Public education in Washington

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Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Idaho, Montana, and Oregon), Washington had the highest percentage of students score at or above proficient in all categories.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Washington	48%	42%	40%	42%
Idaho	40%	36%	33%	38%
Montana	45%	40%	35%	40%
Oregon	40%	34%	33%	37%
Vereinigte Staaten	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables"

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Washington and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.

Washington schools reported a graduation rate of 76.4 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, second highest among its neighboring states.

In Washington, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1537.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013
State	Graduation rate, 2013		Average ACT composite, 2013		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Washington	76.4%	Fourth	22.8	21%	1537	60%
Idaho	K.A.	K.A.	22.1	49%	1364	99%
Montana	84.4%	Third	21.3	72%	1595	25%
Oregon	68.7%	Fifth	21.5	34%	1539	49%
Vereinigte Staaten	81.4%		20.9	54%	1498	50%
**Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013"

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Washington was higher than the national average at 4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.8 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

State profile

State profile

Demographic data for Washington
	Washington	U.S.
Total population:	7,160,290	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	66,456	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	77.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	3.6%	12.6%
Asian:	7.7%	5.1%
Native American:	1.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.6%	0.2%
Two or more:	5.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	12%	17.1%
Bildung
High school graduation rate:	90.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	32.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$61,062	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	14.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Washington

Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Washington
• United States congressional delegations from Washington
• Public policy in Washington
• Endorsers in Washington
• Washington fact checks
• More...

Issues

Education budget adds $7.3 billion to public school funding

Washington added $7.3 billion over four years to public school funding with the budget signed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on June 30, 2017. The funding was passed to comply with the 2012 McLeary v. State of Washington decision which ruled that the state was violating its state constitutional duty to fund K-12 education.

Under the plan, property taxes were raised in areas with high property values, while taxes in other areas were decreased. These raises accounted for approximately $4 billion of the total $7.3 billion. According to state Sen. Kevin Ranker (D), the property tax increases would add approximately $400 a year to the average Washington household's taxes.

Budget details

Washington teachers can receive two salaries: one from the state government and one from their school district. The new budget provisions included a minimum starting state salary for teachers of $40,000 (with adjustment for inflation and regional discrepancies), which was a 17 percent increase. The average minimum salary for instructional staff was $64,000 under the plan. School districts could also issue a salary over the previous maximum of $90,000 by up to 10 percent for educational staff associates or instructors who teach science, technology, engineering, and math, or in bilingual or special education programs. Below are a few other details of the new measure, according to Q13 Fox:

"

There’s a mandatory 10 percent [salary] increase after 5 years of employment. Starting in 2020-21, the minimum state allocations for salaries must be adjusted annually for inflation. Starting with the 2023 session, and every six years after that, the Legislature must review compensation to make sure they are adequate based on the market and economic differences between school districts.

”

Reactions

“It’s absolutely helping the middle class and 73% of Washington,” state Sen. John Braun (R) said about the budget. He also said that it found a solution to comply with the McLeary ruling fairly. State Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D) disagreed. “It’s a stressful situation; it looks like property taxes are a major component of this and I think it’s safe to say it’s a Democratic budget with a Republican tax plan,” Carlyle said. He called the budget “the good, bad and the ugly.”

McLeary v. State of Washington

The 2017 budget was passed in light of the McLeary ruling. When the decision was made in 2012, the Washington Supreme Court ordered the state to fully fund K-12 education by 2018. In September 2014, the Court held Washington in contempt for not making adequate progress. After the state still did not make adequate progress and produce a plan to comply with the Court's orders in 2015, the Supreme Court fined the state $100,000 a day until it complied. Those fines totaled $80.3 million as of October 24, 2017.

The State Supreme Court heard oral arguments on that day to determine whether or not the additional funding was enough for the state to be in full compliance with the court's ruling. An attorney for the state argued that the newest education budget was enough to pay for what the state's constitution calls for: a basic education for each child in Washington. The plaintiffs' lawyer argued that the Legislature was still far removed from reaching that goal. As of October 26, 2017, the court had not made a final decision.

See also

Washington	School Boards	News and Analysis
Public education in Washington List of school districts in Washington	School board elections, 2017 Washington school board elections, 2016 Washington school board elections, 2015 Washington school board elections, 2014	School boards in session: 2015 in brief School board incumbency analysis: 2015 in brief Analysis of spending in America's largest school districts Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey