BILL REQ. #:  H-1973.1 

Read first time 02/23/2005.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     WHEREAS, The Seattle school district has more than forty-seven thousand students; and
     WHEREAS, The Seattle school district has a much higher percentage of highly qualified teachers assigned to low-poverty schools than to high-poverty schools; and
     WHEREAS, The Seattle school district has had a difficult time in recent years in making its budget balance;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, That the joint legislative audit and review committee study and recommend one or more models to separate the Seattle school district into two or at most three new school districts; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the study consider issues that include but need not be limited to boundaries for the new districts, enrollment, communities of interest, academic performance, staffing issues, contractual obligations, and the tax base of any new districts; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the study consider measures that would ensure rough parity in the amount of state and local funding that would likely be available to any new districts for similar types of students; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee complete a preliminary report by December 31, 2005, and a final report by June 30, 2006.