La Conner and Wahkiakum are longtime foes in the athletic arena. Soon they might be allies on the judicial front.

La Conner School Board President Susie Deyo raised that prospect during the panel’s 90-minute Nov. 28 hybrid meeting.

Deyo asked that the board later this month support a resolution and modest financial contribution – perhaps $3,000. The Wahkiakum School District is suing the state government to extend the McCleary decision mandating basic education funding to include campus capital improvement projects.

The state Supreme Court in the McCleary case ruled that the state is constitutionally responsible for essential academic funding in grades K-12. That financial support, the court determined, can only be cut due to scholastic and not budget considerations.

Prior to that 2012 ruling, students in school districts with high property values tended to enjoy access to a level of education not necessarily available to students in lower property wealth districts.

Attorneys for the McCleary family of Chimacum successfully argued that reliance on local property levies created a gap between state funding and actual school operational costs that favored more affluent districts.

But that ruling left unclear whether building and security upgrades are included in what the court termed “amply funded” basic education elements.

Deyo said the Wahkiakum bid to extend McCleary to capital improvements has merit that can benefit La Conner.

“We have a great opportunity to help Wahkiakum,” Deyo explained. “If they win, the state will have to fund these capital projects, and we need one.”

Deyo did not specify the district’s need, but the high school building is nearing the half-century mark. The district has invested recently in significant security, roofing and siding upgrades on campus.

Deyo gained insight into the Wahkiakum litigation while attending the annual Washington State School Directors Association conference in Spokane last month.

“It was a major takeaway for me,” she said, noting that Wahkiakum is a low property wealth district, recalling a basketball trip La Conner there.

“They can’t pass a bond to build new buildings,” Deyo said. “Bond costs to Wahkiakum (taxpayers) are much higher than they are in (more populated or affluent) districts like Issaquah.”

Deyo said that Wahkiakum has seen eight bond issue measures fail at the polls. The southwest Washington district has embraced what she called a “David versus Goliath” strategy and is hoping to “pile on to McCleary” to secure funding for long delayed capital improvements.

“I think this will directly affect us,” Deyo projected. “If they win, it helps us.”