State schools chief preparing legal action against districts

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn says he plans to sue a few school districts that use local levies to pay teachers because they don't get enough from the state.

Dorn says basic education is a state responsibility and he believes school districts don't have the authority to use local levies to make up what the state does not fund. He wants the courts to weigh in.

The Daily Herald says the schools chief, who is leaving office at the end of the year, is preparing a lawsuit to be filed as early next week in King County Superior Court. He declined to say which districts will be sued.

Dorn says some districts are able to pay higher salaries by using local levies. Other districts are unable to pass levies or raise more limited funds.

He says he doesn't fault school districts but his job is to represent the needs of kids.