By Aspen Ford, Washington State Standard
April 6, 2026
Nestled in the foothills of the North Cascades, where logging has long fueled the economy, the Mount Baker School District is facing a budget deficit exceeding $1 million, which local officials say is tied to declining timber sales on state lands.
Three years ago, the rural district entered into what’s known as “binding conditions,” an arrangement where the state now oversees its day-to-day financial operations. Since…
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Why not do what the legislature promised decades ago and put the gambling money in the school funding budged. As voters, we were told if we voted to allow gambling, all that money was going to be earmarked for schools. The state is mandated to fund schools 100%. It has never done that to the best of my knowledge. The legislature has never lived up to its public responsibility of funding schools. The gambling money was never set aside for schools, it was put into the general fund! Even after being sued and the Wa. State Supreme Court directed the legislature to do what they were legally mandated to do (fund schools), the public istill getting hit w school levies and schools that are begging for money. Stop lying to the public! Do what you, the legislature, agreed to do decades ago. I for one would like to see any money that is being sidelined to bring a basketball team back to Seattle spent on schools. It is obvious there is money that can be pulled out of the spending hat when it means more entertainment (vs. living up to the mandated requirement the state has to fund education). Get your priorities straight!