Do your research on school funding and the history of education in Washington State & the United States. Think critically about everything you read and hear—what sounds like a good idea on the surface can cause more harm if we're not informed.

We recommend this thoughtful opinion by Mark Epstein and Michael Dixon. It was published by the South Seattle Emerald last year, but the content is very relevant to our conversations happening today.

We also recommend Underfunded and Unsustainable a recent report on the education funding crisis from The League of Education Voters. The report contains findings from in-depth interviews with district superintendents from 28 Washington state school districts and a look at district staffing and spending data to help inform how we can respond and ensure that students are centered as we look to how we can emerge from this challenging time.

The People's Big Five—a grassroots coalition echoing Professor David Knight’s “Big 5” legislative priorities for fully and equitably funding education in Washington State—calls on Legislators to reform critical funding for K-12 education. Sign the pledge and share it with your community! PTA leaders can also vote with their board and/or their membership to rally around these five priorities in the 2025 legislative session. You can learn more about the Big 5 here and here. WSPTSA supports the Big Five priorities.

1. Reforming school funding allocations for Equity Statewide – reforming Learning Assistance Programs and Local Education Authority funding to ensure equitable support for low-income students and lower-income districts 

2. Passing Progressive Revenue Legislation – identifying sustainable progressive revenue streams for K-12 education funding   

3. Fully Funding Special Education – by shifting from rate of inclusion to determine funding weights that include specific disability categories and their associated cost 

4. Fully Funding K-12 Transportation Needs – updating the STARS transportation funding model to ensure it is sufficient to meet cost and does not penalize districts for achieving efficiencies 

5. Addressing Inflation  – increase funding allocation for materials, supplies and operating cost (MSOC) to reflect the impacts of inflation on costs such as insurance, fuel, utilities 

Talk with friends, neighbors & Legislators about opposing Initiative 2109 that repeals the Capital Gains Tax  on long-term capital assets with gains over $250,000 (stocks and bonds, but not primary residences or retirement accounts), with the revenues from that tax going directly to support public education. The first $500M that the capital gains tax collects each year must go into the Education Trust Legacy Account, which can only support public schools (early learning, K-12, and higher education). Amounts collected above $500M must be deposited into the Common School Construction Account.

Washington State PTA, through its member-adopted legislative platform, has consistently advocated for predictable, progressive, and sustainable revenue sources for funding public education and for programs that benefit children and youth. WSPTA opposes Initiative 2109, which would repeal the capital gains tax – a critical and significant source of revenue for education and school construction. WSPTA encourages all local PTAs and Councils to oppose Initiative 2109, and educate their members; And encourages all 83,000+ members to vote NO on Initiative 2109.

Organize with SCPTSA and other non-profit organizations in Seattle who have been advocating for equitably and fully funding education across Washington State for some time. Families and communities with students furthest from educational justice have the knowledge and experience needed to change the system so ALL children can thrive. SPCPTSA recommends checking out what the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition and Equity in Education Coalition are up to for starters.