Chris Reykdal, Washington’s K-12 schools superintendent, called for changes to the state’s tax code Tuesday while pushing back against Gov. Bob Ferguson's proposed spending cuts.
Reykdal said the governor’s proposal “takes an austerity approach.”
“This budget, like others before it, closes the holes in Washington’s budget on the backs of public services,” Reykdal said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a false narrative. The idea that we either need to cut from one direct service that our communities rely on in order to fund another public service is wrong.”
Ferguson earlier Tuesday floated cutting $146.7 million in education spending from the state’s general fund in fiscal 2027, according to his proposed supplemental budget.
The governor’s proposal to realize those savings includes reducing slots in the Transition to Kindergarten program for 4-year-olds and across-the-board cuts to public colleges and universities. Ferguson proposed a 3% cut at the University of Washington and Washington State University and a 1.5% cut to regional four-year institutions and community colleges.
But Ferguson also said Tuesday that he supports a tax on high incomes, which would raise future money that he said should in part go toward public education.
Reykdal said he would propose “transformative ways to fully fund our K-12 schools,” including “tax considerations.”
“I intend to lean into every single bit of leverage that I have to improve public education in Washington and make our tax code more fair,” Reykdal said.
Ferguson’s budget proposal would also reduce state funding meant to support school districts with lower property tax bases and would lower annual payments to districts for replacing buses.
Additionally, Ferguson proposed a “soft cap” on enrollment in the state’s subsidized child care program, Working Connections Child Care, allowing some exceptions, such as for children involved in the child welfare system.
However, the budget proposes expanding the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, a state preschool program primarily for low-income children, with help from funds donated by Ballmer Group. (The Seattle Times receives funding from Ballmer Group to support coverage of early childhood education.)
Washington spends $18,181 per public school student, above the national average of $16,526, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But Reykdal said the state ranks 40th when it comes to the percentage of state gross domestic product spent on K-12 education.
“No cuts to early learning are going to make our youngest learners more prepared for kindergarten,” Reykdal said. “No cuts to dual credit (college courses for high school students) are going to improve student access to college, and no cuts to K-12 when school districts are already in financial distress are going to improve student learning in math or reading.”
Ferguson said Tuesday that while he supported adopting a tax on people who make more than $1 million in income in a single year, and hopes it will be adopted in the 2026 session, it can’t fix the state’s short-term budget challenges.
Money from the tax wouldn’t come in until about 2029, even if the tax was passed in the upcoming session, he said.
He added that gains from the tax should go toward expanding the state’s Working Families Tax Credit and to reduce taxes on small businesses, as well as to boost K-12 education.
“The millionaires tax should also be used to provide more K through 12 funding to bolster Washington student access to a world class education,” Ferguson said.
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