4.

Special education funding 

Seattle Council PTSA: Do you believe the current state funding formula, including the special education multiplier, adequately covers special education costs? What specific changes, if any, would you support? 

Hannah Sabio-Howell: No. The 2025 law was a major step, but it didn’t close the gap. It removed the 16% enrollment cap, which had left many districts serving more students than the state would pay for and lowered the safety net threshold for many students. State special education funding rose for 2026. But districts are still using local levy money to cover the difference. I’d support phasing the multiplier up toward the 1.3 range over the next two budgets and not letting it get cut in a tight year. I’d fully fund the safety net so districts with special education students aren’t forced to make a false choice between individual children’s needs and the rest of their budget, and I’d fund the 20 inclusionary-practice pilot schools and expand the ones that work. I’d also fund the statewide online IEP system, because paperwork shouldn’t take time away from teaching. And I’d direct the auditor to keep tracking the gap, so the next increases are based on real data. The goal is that a family never has to fight for services because their district’s budget is stretched.

5.

Materials, supplies, and operating costs (MSOC) 

Seattle Council PTSA: Do you believe the state's current MSOC funding formula adequately covers school districts' operating expenses, including utilities, insurance, and technology? What specific changes, if any, would you support? 

Hannah Sabio-Howell: No. The 2025 law was a real step in the right direction. But districts still report that utilities, insurance, and technology costs are rising faster than the formula. Districts fill the gap with levies, which I’d call a failure of the state’s basic education duty. First, we should rebase the formula on real costs. Starting in 2026-27, districts must report MSOC spending by category, including utilities, insurance, and technology. I’d use that data to reset the per-student allocation, and then adjust it yearly with an index that tracks these costs rather than general inflation. Second, I’d fight to add a funding floor for small districts, as OSPI proposed, with $100 more per student or at least $100,000 per district. A rural district can’t cut its building costs when enrollment drops. Third, Washington should tackle insurance directly. I’d study a statewide insurance pool or bulk purchasing arrangement for districts, and fund technology replacement and cybersecurity so devices don’t age out. We can fix this in the 2027-29 budget by funding the formula at what it actually costs to run schools.

6.

Transportation funding 

Seattle Council PTSA: What is your assessment of the state's current STARS transportation funding formula? What specific changes, if any, would you support? 

Hannah Sabio-Howell: While STARS is an improvement on the previous system, it also is outdated and an increasingly poor fit for what it’s supposed to do. This model relies heavily on average ridership without properly examining the challenges of bus routes. Lawmakers have talked about replacing it since at least 2023, and I’d fight to finish the job. We should start by building out a transparent, cost-based formula using route miles, ridership, geography, and driver wages, so districts can see how their allocation was calculated and plan their budgets. The state should also fully reimburse the extra costs of special passenger categories, including special education, McKinney-Vento, and foster care, so those children aren’t priced out of getting to school. It’s also essential that Washington factors in rural distance and density, so a district isn’t penalized for geography. And lastly, I’d fight to keep funding bus replacement so aging fleets don’t become a safety problem. Fully funding both public education and public transportation would make serious progress. If we could have frequent, reliable, safe transit, and fund our schools fully, we can make Washington the best state to live in.

7.

Student mental and behavioral health

Seattle Council PTSA: What specific funding or policy changes, if any, would you support to ensure schools have sufficient counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and other mental and behavioral health professionals to meet students' needs?

Hannah Sabio-Howell: Students can’t learn when they’re in crisis, and counselors and nurses prevent crises that cost far more later. I think it’s unacceptable that Washington is so far below the counselor and social worker to student ratio that experts recommend. To address this, I would champion raising the prototypical funding model’s allocations for counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses toward national ratios, phased in over the next two budgets, with the funds dedicated to those positions and annual reporting of funded versus actual staffing. We’ve also seen, given the erratic and negligent behavior of the federal government lately, that the state needs a contingency plan so schools don’t lose staff mid-year if federal grants end. More upstream, I’d fight to strengthen the workforce pipeline with loan forgiveness, paid internships, and recruitment support for rural districts. And a related issue I hear about at the doors on a daily basis is state funding for health care, which is directly connected to the quality of care we can provide students at school. I would fight to expand Medicaid billing and telehealth partnerships so schools can bring in more services, while protecting Apple Health from the federal cuts that are devastating our state and country right now.

8.

School safety

Seattle Council PTSA: What does a safe school environment mean to you, and what specific policies or investments would you prioritize to create it? Please address both physical safety and the conditions inside schools, including discipline, student support, and staff capacity to respond to student needs.

Hannah Sabio-Howell: Safe schools look like places where students can learn without fear, where they are emotionally protected and able to reach out for support, and where educators are not overrun by unmet needs or forced to exclude students from learning as the result of punishment models. For physical safety, I’d fund the basics through state construction assistance, such as secure entrances, reliable communication systems, and well-maintained buildings. Washington already requires every district to have a threat assessment program, backed by regional safety centers. I’d keep funding that in order to focus on spotting problems early and getting students help. On discipline, state rules already limit long-term suspension and expulsion for behavior that isn’t a safety threat, and encourage alternatives, but OSPI acknowledged no new funding came with the latest rules. Reforms without resources just leave teachers to manage alone. I’d fund de-escalation and restorative practices training, behavior specialists, and re-engagement staff so students can return to class with a plan. For student support, I’d increase counselor, nurse, social worker, and psychologist staffing, as mentioned in my previous answer, to meet students in crisis with professionals, not just discipline. Of course, this also means we need to support staff capacity. I’d support reasonable class sizes, paraeducator and special education staffing, paid planning and training time, and policies that protect staff who are injured or threatened on the job.

9.

Early learning

Seattle Council PTSA: What is your view of the state's responsibility to expand access to quality early learning, and what would you do in the 2027-29 budget to address unmet needs in communities like ours?

Hannah Sabio-Howell: Early learning is part of the public education system, and state lawmakers should treat it that way. The Fair Start for Kids Act promised that ECEAP, our state preschool program, would become an entitlement for every eligible child, but in 2025 the legislature pushed that date from 2026-27 to 2030-31, dropped the infant and toddler component, and delayed expansions to child care subsidies. Part of why I jumped into this race is because a status quo where state government fails to deliver on our promises or walks back our commitments to working families creates distrust and disenchantment with government, which can and should lift up families. In the 2027-29 budget, I’d fight to protect and build on ECEAP’s expansion, with a funded timeline to entitlement, not a date that keeps slipping, and bring back infant and toddler services. I would also champion restored Transition to Kindergarten funding, because it serves children who don’t qualify for ECEAP but still need support. I would also fight hard to protect Working Connections. I organized alongside refugee and immigrant parents who received essential support through Working Connections and know the devastating impact of cuts to that subsidy. We also urgently need to invest in the workforce and facilities, because child care providers often earn too little to stay in the field, and without them, slots don’t exist. I’d fund this by closing corporate tax breaks and fighting for new progressive revenue tools, like a wealth tax or corporate income tax. In a state as wealthy and visionary as Washington, there’s no reason families with young children should struggle to find or afford quality early learning.

10.

Prototypical school funding model

Seattle Council PTSA: The state calculates school funding through the prototypical school funding model, including staffing allocations and student-to-staff ratios. What specific changes, if any, would you support?

Hannah Sabio-Howell: The state calculates school funding through the prototypical school funding model, including staffing allocations and student-to-staff ratios. What specific changes, if any, would you support? Fundamentally, the prototypical school funding model should reflect what it takes to educate a child today, and right now it doesn’t. The allocations aren’t requirements, and a lot of what students and educators need has outgrown them. I would support updating staffing ratios. The voters approved Initiative 1351 in 2014 for smaller classes and more support staff, but the state never fully funded it. I’d phase in lower class sizes in grades 4-12, starting with high-poverty schools, and raise allocations for counselors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and principals toward recommended levels. I’d continue the 2024 increase in paraeducator and office staff ratios, with the money directed to pay and staffing. I also strongly supporting addressing the blind spots in a one-size-fits-all school that especially affects schools in communities like the ones my family is from, in Walla Walla and Ritzville. Small rural schools can’t operate with a fraction of a counselor or principal, and schools with high poverty or many multilingual learners need extra staff and time. I’d add minimum allocations for small schools and stronger weights for student need. To address what teachers need, I also think we need to fund real costs, including regional salary differences, so districts in high-cost areas can compete for teachers.

11.

Millionaires' Tax Revenue

Seattle Council PTSA: Do you support Washington's Millionaires' Tax? Why or why not? If you support it, how do you believe the revenue should be allocated, particularly for K–12 public education, and what specific changes, if any, would you propose? If you oppose it, what alternative revenue sourcesor funding changes would you propose to meet the state's K–12 education funding obligations?

Hannah Sabio-Howell: I absolutely support the Millionaires’ Tax and was proud to be part of the broad coalition of workers’ rights and economic justice organizations that fought for it. The Millionaires’ Tax asks the people who benefit most from our economy to pay their share, and the law pairs it with relief for everyone else: it expands the Working Families Tax Credit to hundreds of thousands more families, cuts small business taxes, removes sales tax on essentials, and pays for free school meals. On K-12, the revenue goes into the state general fund, where K-12 is about 43% of spending, so it supports schools indirectly. My priority is making that real and reliable by using it to fully fund special education, staffing, MSOC, and transportation at what they actually cost, instead of letting levies fill the gap. The tax doesn’t take effect until 2028, with first payments in 2029, so it can’t solve the 2027-29 budget. I’d close corporate tax breaks and use reserves carefully to bridge that gap. The changes I would support include funding the Department of Revenue well enough to enforce residency and avoid evasion; building a stronger reserve, since high-income revenue swings with the market and schools shouldn’t be cut when it dips; and committing to an “education first” budget approach so K-12 isn’t sacrificed to other needs.

12.

Family and student participation & accountability

Seattle Council PTSA: How would you ensure that students and families have meaningful opportunities to participate in education policy decisions at the state and district levels? What specific steps would you support to ensure that adopted policies are implemented effectively and that districts are held accountable for following them?

Hannah Sabio-Howell: Part of why I jumped into this race is because I’m tired of the old-guard approach to policymaking that treats policy like it’s something that happens to us, rather than something that we all build together. Parents and students shouldn't have to know the system in order to shape the system. To open up participation, I’d start with access. That means interpretation and translation at school board meetings and for key documents, remote participation options, and meeting times that work for working families. I’d fund family and community engagement coordinators in the funding model, so every district has someone whose job is outreach. I’d also support student seats on school boards and student advisory councils at the state and district levels, with real input before budgets and discipline policies are adopted, and stipends so low-income families and students can participate on state boards and committees. Districts should publish plain-language budgets and policy changes in advance, with a genuine comment period. On accountability, there’s a gap between what the law says and what happens. The Office of the Education Ombuds helps families navigate problems, but it can’t investigate or make findings, and OSPI can only formally investigate complaints in limited circumstances. I’d support funding the Ombuds to expand statewide outreach, especially in Central and Eastern Washington. We should also require OSPI to publish special education community complaint decisions and keep the records beyond the current six years, as advocates like The Arc have requested. To improve transparency, we should create public district dashboards on discipline, staffing, and compliance, so patterns are visible. And we should use escalating oversight: technical assistance first, then public corrective plans, then state oversight of specific functions, with the funding to make it work. Ultimately, when we pass a policy, we should fund the training and staffing to carry it out.