SERIES | Education Finance 103: A People's Guide

We have good news and bad news. The bad first.

Our state's public schools are underfunded, perpetuating harmful consequences to our students and pitting our communities against one another.

The good: There is growing consensus that every child and educator in Washington should have well-funded schools, regardless of the size of parents' paychecks or a district's property values.

For a deeper dive into the structure of our school funding system, read the first two parts on education finance in this series. In this lesson, we unpack the context of the recent election results amid the ongoing school funding crisis, and Balance Our Tax Code will provide a checklist of policy solutions our legislature must pass this upcoming session.

Implications of Election Results and Revenue Forecasts on Our Schools

The recent decision to postpone the Seattle Public School Closure Plan for 2025–26 could be celebrated as a defensive victory against austerity, but the fight to keep these schools open will continue during the 69th biennial session of the Washington State Legislature, beginning Jan. 13, 2025.

With Trump's parade of ungodly potential cabinet appointments and the trifecta of Republican control on the executive, legislative, and judicial levels, Washington's public schools are staring down deepening divestment of federal funding, exacerbating an already dire financial shortfall. Project 2025 means districts across our state that support ethnic studies and gender-inclusive bathrooms might be threatened with the loss of federal funds amounting to nearly 10% of their funding. We cannot let Trump pit Washington schools against one another in a race to the right.

Regardless of what heinously divisive outcomes happen on the federal level, the paramount duty of Washington State's legislators remains the same: ample funding for basic education. After all, our public schools are the bedrock of democracy.

With the Office of Finance Management (OFM) projecting a shortfall upward of $10–$12 billion over the next four years and the superintendent of public instruction calling for an additional $7 billion, legislators must ask themselves: Where will this new revenue come from?

The election results in Washington State were a silver lining among the national storm of right-wing domination.

In Washington State, 64% of voters rejected the conservative-backed initiative to repeal our state's capital gains tax, which funds child care, early learning, and school construction. Our state also maintained a Democratic majority trifecta in our House, Senate, and executive races.

Timing couldn't be better, as The Seattle Times reports that high earners in our city are making more than ever. While the state reported a budget deficit, personal income is up 7% in our state, ranking third highest in the country.

For decades, wealthy interest groups and conservative lawmakers have stacked our state's tax code against working families. Today, Washington has the second-most regressive tax code in the nation, with low-wage workers paying three times more of our incomes in local taxes than our billionaire neighbors.

And up until 2023, we had the most unjust tax code out of all 50 states. Without passing the Working Families Tax Credit and the capital gains tax on Wall Street profiteers in 2021, we would still be dead last behind Florida. These policies have devoted billions of dollars toward child care subsidies, school construction projects, and direct tax dollars back to lower-income families. Progressive legislators are not done yet, as they introduce new progressive revenue for this coming session.

How can we fund our schools and tip the scales in favor of working people? Here are some ideas:

Wealth Tax

One of the most popular proposed bills would create a tax on the ultra-wealthy to fund education, as well as affordable housing, support for people with disabilities, and tax credits for working families. As written in the bill from 2023, the handful of people rich enough to contribute would pay just 1% of their financial assets worth more than $250 million.

In Seattle and districts across the state, middle and high school teachers are packing 40-plus students into a classroom. Voters approved reduced class sizes with Initiative 1351 in 2014, but we have never reached these staffing ratios. The wealth tax would allow us to get closer to the class sizes we know would benefit students.

The Seattle Times found that 67% of Washingtonians support this tax on the wealthy. New state leadership agrees that funding our schools with progressive revenue is our highest priority this session.

Gov. Jay Inslee's 2025–27 proposed budget, released Dec. 17, includes over $3 billion of revenue from a new state wealth tax. Whether or not the legislature will pass progressive revenue will hinge on who shows up in Olympia over the 105-day session.

Fix the High-Earners Loophole for Corporations

Many working family members must hustle to multiple jobs to afford medical care, housing, and rising costs of living, making them unavailable to support their children's academic activities in the evenings.

The social safety net that keeps these families afloat in hard times — including Medicare, Social Security, paid family medical leave, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation — is made possible by payroll taxes. However, Washington has a tax loophole that allows corporations to avoid paying payroll taxes on employees with the largest salaries (above $168,600). Closing this loophole could bolster programs that allow parents to take time off for a new child, make rent after a layoff, or cover medical bills after being injured on the job.

The Affordable Homes Act

Relying on property taxes on lower-income and lower-value homes pushes out communities of color disproportionately, especially in South King County. Predatory developers, big landlords, and sky-high rents plague King County as well as rural districts statewide. A recent report indicated we had the fifth highest wage-to-housing cost rate in the country.

When students lose access to subsidized housing or are displaced by rising property taxes, the instability always has lasting impacts on their education. Every teacher has known a student whose family has fallen into housing insecurity and then watched that student struggle academically.

Lawmakers could pass the Affordable Homes Act to permanently fund homes for working families and people with disabilities. It would increase the tax on multimillion-dollar mansion sales, and decrease that tax for ordinary Washingtonians selling homes for less than $3 million.

A Multiyear Strategy for Rebalancing Our Tax Code

Washingtonians' opinions on taxes have become more nuanced in the last decade, given the accelerated financial growth our communities grapple with. A bipartisan report demonstrates the support for balancing our tax code. By taxing our state's top earners, legislators can alleviate the tax burden on low- and middle-income households. Lawmakers must accept that all progressive policies will face legal challenges by bad-faith, right-wing transplants keen to protect our corporate-friendly tax code.

Instead of focusing on the backlash from a few thousand of the wealthiest residents who want to continue to avoid paying what they owe, our legislators should support the 8 million Washingtonians who actually rely on public services and struggle to remain housed.

Legislators must continue building the foundation of a multiyear movement to fix our inequitable tax code so that we can fully fund our schools without sacrificing other essential public services.

Record Profits Should Mean Record Investments

Internationally, experts consider the percent of gross domestic product (GDP) used on education as a measure of effort or investment. GDP is used because it more accurately reflects our capacity to spend on education, while our current budget is limited by our upside-down, unbalanced tax code.

Superintendent Chris Reykdal highlighted in his 2025-27 Budget Proposal press conference that our state would need a $4 billion investment to match the national average at 3.53% of GDP (or for states, gross state product or GSP). Chile and Norway lead the globe when it comes to education spending at 3.9% and 4.6%, respectively.

Washington languishes at a dismal 3.17%.

Our state uniquely claims its paramount duty is to "amply fund education." For Washington to reach 4% of GSP, it would take $10 billion in new revenue and spending per year.

What Can We Do to Get Involved?

As the session gets closer, the pressure is building. Statewide, parents and students are hosting events to keep their schools open, and a growing coalition of legislators, associations, and community organizations are signing on to the People's Big 5, which calls for our legislature to fix our broken school funding formulas and fully fund our schools by passing progressive revenue. With nearly 500 emails sent to lawmakers, support is building in that quarter.

Rep. My-Linh Thai has been joined by newly elected Rep. Shaun Scott, who will serve in the finance and education committees in the House, in supporting the Big 5. Educator unions from Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Federal Way, Renton, and across the state are joining the People's coalition.

We need broad grassroots momentum to drown out wealthy corporate interests in Olympia next year:

• For a roadmap, advocacy toolkit, and organizing meetings to take action this legislative session, follow along at www.bit.ly/fundWAschools

• To advocate for progressive tax reforms like the wealth tax, Affordable Homes Act, and closing the payroll-tax loophole, get involved through Balance Our Tax Code.

• Community members can sign onto the People's Big 5, then send an email to their legislators, and stay in the loop to take action with Big 5 this session. If you are a student or youth, check out Washington Bus and Seattle Student Union. You can also RSVP now for a virtual Youth Advocacy Summit in February.

Representatives from Balance Our Tax Code provided research and assistance on revenue options listed above.

The South Seattle Emerald is committed to holding space for a variety of viewpoints within our community, with the understanding that differing perspectives do not negate mutual respect amongst community members.

The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Emerald or official policies of the Emerald.