A King County judge ruled last week that the state has failed in its constitutional duty to fully fund education.

The Coupeville and Oak Harbor school districts both gave verbal support for the lawsuit, which was filed in 2007.

After two months of testimony beginning last fall, Superior Court Judge John Erlick ruled in favor of a coalition of parents, teachers and school districts. He directed the state Legislature to find the actual cost of operating public schools and to pay for it with stable sources.

“I’m pleased by it. I think it was the only answer that could be given,” Coupeville superintendent Patty Page said.

Over the years, schools districts on Whidbey and across the state have come to rely on local levies to cover essential services. Levies were initially designed to provide extra programs.

“The levy is about 20 percent of our basic education operation budget,” Page said. “The state needs to make it work to where it’s not a local responsibility.”

Last year, the Legislature set a deadline in a House bill to address underfunding issues by 2018. Oak Harbor Superintendent Rick Schulte said the bill makes the assumption that “there will be a lot more money then than there is today.”

“The judge made statements that it’s wishful thinking. The current Legislature can’t count on future legislators to make revenue magically appear,” he said.

Oak Harbor schools depend on the levy for about 7 percent of its total budget. With a significant reliance on state funding, the district has felt the sting of its growing absence.

There have been cuts to teachers, textbook purchases, athletics, custodians and more in the last three years, Schulte said. In Coupeville, Page says the class sizes have grown and many support positions were lost.

Both superintendents hope Erlick’s ruling will encourage lawmakers to create a plan to amply fund education.

“By itself the ruling doesn’t change anything. It sends it back to the state Legislature and says, ‘Alright Legislature, do what you’re supposed to do, and do what you were supposed to do for the last 30 years,’” Schulte said.

A Superior Court case in the late 1970s also found that the state wasn’t fulfilling its duty to fully fund education.

Other challenges include finding a dependable funding stream, Schulte said, and Erlick’s decision may be appealed.

Public education is also up against other state departments that need important funding as lawmakers build the budget.

“I hope they take the judgment as a call to really do something, and to do it sooner rather than later,” Schulte said.