Contents

  • Summary
  • Data Sources
  • Contact Info
  • A Tour Of The School Data Project Site

Summary

Pertinent statistics and charts are presented on K-12 schools in Washington State. This site is devoted to analyzing school data to inform and assist parents, taxpayers and policy makers with their school related decisions. The current emphasis is analyzing school districts’ finances including teacher and administrator total compensation packages.

Data Sources

For the SBA (Smarter Balanced Assessment), school employee compensation, and demographic data:

State of Washington, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

For the college going and college remediation rates:

Education Research and Data Center

CPI (Consumer Price Index ) data used for inflation adjusted dollars:

Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Calculator

WA school district personnel’s compensations:

OSPI S275 Personnel Compensations

WA school district budget data:

OSPI Budget Data

OSPI report card data:

OSPI Report Card

Contact Info

Contact

A Tour Of The School Data Project Site

The School Data Project is an independent, ongoing analysis of Washington State’s public K–12 education system — covering all 295 traditional school districts and roughly a dozen public charter schools. For each district and charter, the site presents detailed statistics on student academic performance, total annual per-pupil expenditures, historical enrollment trends, and total compensation for teachers and administrators.

Example 1: Tacoma School District

Example 2: Rainier Prep Charter School

Reports Overview

The Reports section includes a variety of analytical summaries and tools:

1) School District Tax Measures

Washington State allows up to four local election dates per year (February, April, August, and November) when traditional school districts can propose tax measures. Public charter schools, however, cannot. In most districts, 100% of the State School Property Tax collected from local taxpayers goes directly to their local school district — meaning that roughly 50–70% of all property taxes fund local schools. And that is not enough. The State has to send more funds to each school district primarily from State Sales Taxes.

State School Property Taxes Report 2021-2022

A frequent misconception is that voters approve future tax rates; in fact, they approve tax amounts in dollars. Property tax rates are later calculated by county assessors to collect those approved amounts, based on the Total Assessed Value (TAV) of all taxable property within the district. Thus, rising property values do not necessarily mean higher taxes — and falling values do not necessarily reduce them.

The report explains this Proportional Obligation Factor (POF) method in detail and provides online calculators to help voters estimate actual tax impacts using sound accounting principles. Most school districts underestimate costs to taxpayers due to incorrect assumptions or flawed calculations.

School District Tax Measures on the November 4th 2025 Ballot

2) Academic Performance Outliers

This report highlights schools that significantly outperform on state testing in English Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Science.

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) and Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) Outliers, Spring 2025

3) Student Growth Percentiles (SGP)

The SGP report measures how much students have improved academically compared to their academic peers statewide. This metric is especially helpful for understanding progress in charter schools, which often serve students entering several grade levels behind.

Student Growth Percentile By District

4) Total Per-Pupil Expenditures (TPPE)

Unlike the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) reports — which exclude certain costs — this analysis includes all expenditures for a complete view of what is truly spent per student.

Total Per Pupil Expenditures Vs Percent Low Income Students

5) Teacher Compensation

This report details the median total compensation for teachers in each district, including cash salary, benefits, and pension funding — all taxpayer-funded.

Median Total Compensation For Teaching Staff Vs Percent Low Income Students

6) Superintendent Compensation

Despite the McCleary Decision’s intent for the state to fully fund education, each district and charter school independently sets its own pay schedules. Superintendent salaries often exceed that of the governor, with no state-wide salary limits or accountability.

Total Compensation For Superintendents Vs Percent Low Income Students

7) Recommended Policy Changes

Two key reforms are proposed:

Voters’ Pamphlet Representation: Currently, districts must recruit both pro and con committees for their own tax measures. In practice, they often fill only the pro side — usually with paid staff — leaving voters without a counterargument.

Transparency in Bond Campaigns: School districts are not bound by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Long-term bonds (often 20+ years) can double in total cost due to interest, yet campaign materials frequently omit these details.

Recommended Policy Changes

Supplemental Policy Report

Recommended Policy Changes Regarding Local Voters’ Pamphlets And Local Property Tax Measures’ Cost Impact Analyses

Questions or Comments

Feedback and inquiries are welcome via the About/Contact Page.