We asked Tri-City school officials to grade WA lawmakers’ work. It’s not pretty
Lawmakers in Olympia are getting bad grades from Tri-City education leaders following the conclusion of the 2025 legislative session.
Legislator proposed dozens, if not hundreds, of education-related bills during what many have called one of the toughest sessions in recent memory.
The select few that got hearings and passed both chambers are on Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk, where they await the Democratic governor’s decision to be signed or vetoed.
Despite a big push from education advocates this year to increase the funding that local schools receive to cover the costs of special education, materials and operations and transportation — known collectively as the “big three” — school leaders are walking away feeling let down.
For smaller districts, especially in Eastern Washington, one change to school enrichment levies means little and could serve to widen the gap between the state’s wealthiest and poorest schools.
“This isn’t about frills or extras. This is about the basics: keeping classrooms warm, safe, and stocked with materials essential for learning. It’s about giving teachers the tools they need to do their jobs and giving students the environment they need to thrive,” said Richland Superintendent Shelley Redinger, Kennewick Superintendent Traci Pierce and Pasco Superintendent Michelle Whitney in a provided statement to the Tri-City Herald.
The trio said they were “deeply disappointed” that the session concluded without “amply funding public education for all students.”
“We are grateful for key investments that were made — especially increased funding for special education, modest enhancements to Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOC), and adjustments in Local Effort Assistance (LEA). These dollars will be put to work immediately in our schools to benefit the nearly 52,500 students we collectively serve across the Tri-Cities,” the superintendents said.
“But these gains are far outweighed by the failure to fully fund the foundational costs required to operate a modern, effective public school system,” they continued.
K-12 public education is the “paramount duty” of Washington state government. Despite this, funding as a percent of the total operating budget has slipped in recent years, from 52.4% in 2019 to 43.1% in 2024.
Washington lawmakers increased the share only slightly: This year, education will make up just 43.2%. The growth in K-12 investments was offset by increased spending in other categories, lawmakers tell the Herald.
While the state isn’t required to fund schools by a specific amount, advocates argue the operating figure is symbolic of lawmakers’ reluctance to make sweeping investments in K-12 education.
Without adequate funding, many worry the state is risking another landmark lawsuit similar to McCleary v. Washington.
More special ed funding
Joel Aune, executive director of the Washington Association of School Administrators, the organization advocating on behalf of 1,600 public education administrators around the state, said in a Seattle Times editorial that lawmakers treat K-12 public education as “just another budget item, diminishing its importance with half-measures and delays.”
The fact that Democrats were working to correct a four-year, $12 billion budget deficit doesn’t negate the tangible struggles school districts are having balancing their budgets, he argues.
“Yes, the state faces fiscal pressures. Yes, the economy is cooling. But none of that justifies turning away from our children,” Aune wrote.
“The resources are available. The failure to act is a choice — a choice that prioritizes other interests above public education. This session, a majority in the Legislature once again chose to walk away from its paramount duty, leaving schools vulnerable to the very crisis it had the power to address,” he continued.
It funded an additional $274 million for special education but that’s about a quarter of the $1 billion deficit it needs to properly educate the state’s most needy learners.
Ferguson also will consider signing a bill passed by the Legislature that fully lifts the enrollment cap on special education enrollment. Currently, the state allocates additional funding for special education students up to 16% of a district’s population, meaning districts with higher populations — and more need — miss out.
Aune called the state’s school transportation funding model “outdated.” Lawmakers offered “no policy reform,” but instead chose to increase the state’s gas tax, which will have funding repercussions on struggling districts.
And revenues for Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs — think textbooks, classroom tech, curriculum, heating bills, cleaning supplies and other basic needs — have not kept up with the inflation.
Aune estimates the shortfall across the state’s 295 public K-12 school districts to be about $1 billion, but the Legislature responded with just $90 million.
Whitney, Pierce and Redinger say that’s a big concern and should be at the top of lawmaker’s priority list in 2026.
“The state’s formula for MSOC has fallen so far behind reality that it is nearly impossible to estimate what full funding would look like. However, a conservative estimate suggests it would take at least an additional $250 per student to close the gap between actual district costs and what the state provides,” they write.
WA lawmakers get bad grades
Some district leaders are scratching their heads at why lawmakers in Olympia chose to lift the per-pupil cap on school enrichment levies at a time when voters have shown apprehension toward passing local levy funding.
House Bill 2049 hasn’t been signed by Ferguson yet. But it would allow districts to collect hundreds of dollars more per student by way of “inflation enhancements” through local levies, increasing the cap gradually to $5,035 in 2031.
Kiona-Benton City Superintendent Pete Peterson says that’s all well and good for large property-rich districts, such as Seattle and Bellevue, whose voters overwhelmingly back levy measures.
“Just because the state says we can collect more doesn’t mean that we will. We could never get it,” Peterson said.
Ki-Be has not secured local levy dollars for next year, which means its programs and staff could see some heavy cuts in the coming months.
In February, special election voters didn’t pass a $4.9 million, two-year levy measure for athletics, music, technology support, special education and teachers.
Instead of going immediately back out to voters in April, Ki-Be leaders pumped the brakes to listen to community concerns. They plan to go back out to voters in November with a better deal.
The Benton County district still plans to cut $1.5 million from next school year’s budget, which includes six certificated positions and one administrator. They plan to bring many positions back if the levy passes, but will have to cut another $1 million if it doesn’t.
“It’s a difficult situation,” Peterson said.
He gives Olympia legislators a “C-” grade this session.
Passed Senate Bill 5041 would allow striking workers to receive unemployment benefits and could be used by teachers to the detriment of struggling districts, Peterson said.
Additionally, lawmakers still haven’t lowered the “super majority” voter threshold required for public schools to sell bonds for school construction, a model he called “ancient” and antiquated.
“Olympia is making decisions that don’t necessarily reflect all of the state, and certainly not the smaller school districts of the state,” Peterson said.
Kennewick School Board member Brittany Gledhill gave the Legislature a “D” this session.
She highlighted the broad $9 billion in new taxes Democrats passed to help alleviate the state’s budget woes, a move Gledhill believes will impact voters’ wallets.
“I fear that because of the political-economical environment set by this legislative session, that our community will not be able to adequately support the school district and pass a levy” in 2026, she said.
The slim increase for supplies and operating costs felt like a “personal attack” on districts like Kennewick that have been working proactively to find budget efficiencies, said Gledhill.
The bill tweaking Initiative 2081 — the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” passed by lawmakers in 2024 — to align with state law was the wrong move, Gledhill argues. She says legislators should have seen the initiative’s support as a mandate to change laws instead of appeasing them.
“Parents, no matter what side of the aisle they are on, share the same concern: They just want to know what their child is taught,” she said.
Pasco School Board member Amy Phillips declined to grade legislator’s work, but acknowledged they had their work cut out for them after years of overspending.
“It’s hard because, to me, children are our future. They’re the most important thing in our world, and funding education should be a paramount duty,” Phillips said. “And I feel like they didn’t get those needs filled this year.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 9:48 AM.
