(The Center Square) – The Washington State Senate on Thursday passed legislation meant to ensure state funding reflects the actual costs districts face in maintaining facilities, providing curriculum and meeting other essential operational needs.
Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5192 would allocate a minimum of $1,656.50 per full-time equivalent student for materials, supplies and operating costs, or MSOC. Per the bill, this amount would be adjusted for inflation annually starting in fiscal year 2026.
Senate Republicans raised some concerns about the bill.
Minority Leader Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, offered an amendment that was not adopted.
“This is an important bill. It is clearly part of our state responsibility to pay for these things and we have seen significant operating costs in terms of keeping our buildings open and operating in terms of energy costs and insurance and other things that have frankly been driven by policies from here in Olympia,” he said. “It’s also very important as we put money into this path, especially in these fiscal times, that it doesn’t get diverted into other things; that’s just really important.”
Braun’s amendment would have guaranteed that MSOC funding would not be redirected as part of collective bargaining agreements between the state and the Washington Education Association.
“It simply says any money for materials, supplies and operating costs has to be for that,” he explained.
Bill sponsor Sen. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, urged a no vote on the amendment.
“This is really about local control for our school districts,” she said. “We want to make sure that we are providing the flexibility that school districts need as they are looking for ways to meet all of their obligations for students and communities, while also paying the bills. They need the flexibility because school districts actually know what their needs are.”
Sen. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, pushed back. Harris is a former state representative.
“In my former life in the other chamber, I think I remember giving money to MSOC, and I think I remember we really had it in a nice bow, in a nice box, and it was going to go where it’s supposed to go,” he noted. “To my shock, it didn’t go where it was supposed to go … it got bargained away. This amendment does take away flexibility. It absolutely does. It tells us where we’re spending our money, which is on MSOC – and nothing else.”
Nobles offered an amendment that was adopted that she said would offer some assurances in terms of accounting for MSOC funding.
“This amendment ensures that school districts report MSOC funding to the Legislature in very clear categories,” she said. “I want to make sure that there is accountability and transparency, and I believe this amendment gets us there.”
Bill co-sponsor Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island, told fellow lawmakers she sat with the state auditor and reviewed an accounting of how MSOC dollars are spent.
“The state auditor has the mandate to look at all schools across the state, and I was very pleased to spend a couple of hours going through how MSOC dollars are spent and feeling very comfortable that they are looking at how those dollars are being spent,” she said.
Just ahead of the final vote, Braun indicated he would reluctantly vote in favor of the bill.
“This is a good bill, but it could have been a great bill,” he said.
The Center Square emailed the Washington Education Association seeking comment on the bill but has not received a response.
The final vote off the Senate floor was 47-2, with a pair of Republicans voting against the bill, which now moves to the House for consideration.
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee barely recommended passage of similar legislation, House Bill 1338, which would increase MSOC funding by about 20% and require a review and rebase of MSOC every four years, beginning in the 2029-2030 school year.
