Welcome to Skagit County

January 30th, 2007

SKAGIT COUNTY WINS RULING TO PROTECT FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS

SKAGIT COUNTY – Skagit County prevailed in its efforts to protect funding for Skagit County schools on Friday when Superior Court Judge Susan Cook upheld a long-standing legal precedent that Skagit County lands managed by the State are held in trust, and must be managed principally for the benefit of Skagit County schools, hospitals and other beneficiaries.

Skagit County rural schools are partially funded by forestry revenue from Skagit County-owned lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources on Skagit County’s behalf.

A trial will be held later this spring to determine whether the Lake Whatcom Management Plan enacted by the Washington State Legislature was consistent with the duties of managing trust lands for Skagit County beneficiaries or whether it was aimed at benefiting other non-beneficiaries.

“We fully support and applaud Bellingham’s efforts to clean up Lake Whatcom, because everyone should have clean drinking water,” said Skagit County Commissioner Sharon Dillon, who was recently elected and ran on a pro-environment platform. “But the legislature decided many years ago to fund our schools through revenue from trust land, and we have a duty to protect our children’s education.”

“We want a common sense, practical solution that protects Whatcom County’s drinking water,” said Dillon. “We believe that the compromise recently reached at Blanchard Mountain is a good model for how we might resolve this dispute in a way that protects the environment as well as school revenues.”

For further information, contact: Will Honea
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor
360-336-9464