Federal Way will have a voice in a newly established state committee on school funding.

Sally McLean, the school district’s chief financial officer, has been named to the Levy and Local Effort Assistance Technical Working Group.

“They welcomed me and I am happy to be there,” McLean said. “It’s exciting to think about this last piece of student funding…certainly it’s part of what we all count on.”

McLean said she hopes to bring the perspective of a large school district that has a lower tax base — and bring attention to the need for equality for all students.

“Kids shouldn’t be harmed based on where they are living,” she said.

Other members include a college vice president, a superintendent, a principal, representatives from the major education associations, a school board director, a tax policy expert from the Department of Revenue and a lobbyist, among others. Several appointments were made “at large,” and McLean was one of those.

The 14-member committee was created by the state Legislature in 2009 as part of House Bill 2261, which called for education funding reform. The committee was originally charged with developing new options of supplemental school funding through local school levies and local effort assistance, along with creating a phase-in plan for the new funding model.

In the last legislative session, some additional charges were added to the committee’s task list:

• A look at the district’s facility needs associated with full-day kindergarten and K-3 class size reductions.

• Provide the Quality Education Council information on the potential use of local funds that may become available when the state begins paying more for pupil transportation and maintenance.

McLean pointed out that as of yet, the districts haven’t seen any of that additional funding, so the last portion of their task could be challenging.

The group had its first meeting on Friday.

The committee is monitored by the Quality Education Council, of which Federal Way State Rep. Skip Priest is a member.

The group will continue meeting at least once a month until they present to the Legislature on June 30, 2011. McLean said there is already talk of breaking off into smaller sub-committees to work more frequently.

Updates on the committee can be found at ofm.wa.gov/levy

TIMELINE

According to the Office of Financial Management, the timeline for the committee includes work in June and July to explore the issues around levies, local effort assistance and facilities and begin to explore other options. This work will continue through the summer and early fall. The plan is to draft an option analysis by November. They will then model the impact of the options on the districts and look at the pros and cons of implementation. By May and June of next year they will put together the draft report, and allow for public review and comment before submitting it to the Legislature.