Washington Schools:
Underfunded & Overburdened
Post McCleary “solution,” the state still hasn’t met its constitutional duty to fully fund public education and schools are being asked to do more now than ever before.
Washington Schools:
Underfunded & Overburdened
The Core Issues
The cost of running schools continues to increase dramatically, while state funding for schools has lagged.
The “one-size-fits-all” school funding formula is inadequate and outdated.
Local levies are filling funding gaps they were never intended to fill.
New mandates don’t come with new funding, and school districts lack the resources to do it all.
Washington State’s Operating Budget Over Time
Washington state ranks 40th in the nation in investment in K-12 education as a percentage of the state’s total economy.
The state’s school funding formula is the core issue.
State leaders use a funding distribution “formula” that’s based on the needs of an “average school.” This one-size-fits-some solution for allocating state money to schools isn’t working because it doesn’t recognize the unique needs and costs of individual school districts with varying circumstances in all corners of the state.
The core issue
The state isn’t fulfilling its financial promise to fully fund basic public education, and communities are feeling the consequences of the funding shortfall with deep cuts to school district staff positions, programs, and services.
It’s time to fix these core issues.
School leaders, union representatives, parents, and community members are very worried about the growing gap between the funding that schools get from the state and what it actually costs to fully fund the basics of basic education.
The Core Issue
Click to find out!The Core Issue
The state isn’t fulfilling its financial promise to fully fund basic public education, and communities are feeling the consequences of the funding shortfall with deep cuts to school district staff positions, programs, and services.
Washington state ranks 40th in the nation in investment in K-12 education as a percentage of the state’s total economy
Washington state ranks 40th in the nation in investment in K-12 education as a percentage of the state’s total economy
A Smaller Piece of the Pie for K-12
As Washington State’s operating budget has increased, the percentage dedicated to funding K-12 education has not kept up. About five years ago, about 51.6% of the state’s general fund budget was dedicated to K-12 education. Now, it’s down to about 43.23%, even though costs continue to rise.
Washington State’s Operating Budget Over Time
Where State Funding Falls Short: The Big 3
Funding for at least three major components of basic education, including Special Education, Student Transportation, and Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOC), continues to be dramatically underfunded.
Education Funding Deficits by Year
Total underfunding of the Big 3 is almost $800 million in 2024-25:
Rising Operating Costs
Basic School Operating Costs Are Not Fully Funded by the State
Electricity to power classrooms, heat for school buildings, insurance for the unexpected, curriculum for classrooms. These “must-have” costs are categorized as Materials, Supplies & Operating Costs (MSOC). MSOC expenses continue to rise with inflation, yet state-provided funding has not kept pace.
While Washington’s 2025-27 Operating Budget included an attempt to add funding for MSOC expenses – an $80 million statewide increase spread across two years, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Food, fuel, and utility costs have soared since 2018
Daily household expenses are far more expensive today than they were just a few years ago. Schools are feeling the pinch of these rising costs, too and shouldn’t have to rely on local levies or reserves just to pay the electric bill or cover insurance costs.
MSOC Funding Gap 2024-25 school year
The Core Issue
Click to find out!The Core Issue
These expenses fit squarely within the definition of “basic education,” for which the state is required to provide ample funding.
Average increase in the cost of milk since 2018
(Click to read more)
Average increase in the cost of ground beef 2018
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Average increase in the cost of diesel fuel since 2018
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Average increase in electricity costs since 2018
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Average increase in the cost of natural gas since 2018
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Special Education
Special Education is Still Not Fully Funded by the State
Serving students with disabilities is not optional – it’s a moral, legal and constitutional requirement. In the 2024-25 school year, $531 million in special education expenses were left unfunded by the state.
The state provided districts an average 6.16% increase in state funding in 2025-26, but that funding wasn’t nearly enough to account for the millions left unfunded. Further, this increase doesn’t account for inflation.
Underfunding is happening across the state
Example districts
School District in King County
(2024-25 Special Education)
$47.66 million (State funding)
– $78.63 million (Expenditures)
– $30.97 million
(Unfunded special education expenses)
School District in Clark County
(2024-25 Special Education)
$63.5 million (State funding)
– $85.6 million (Expenditures)
– $22.1 million
(Unfunded special education expenses)
The Core Issue
Click to find out!The Core Issue
School districts shouldn’t have to rely on local levies and reserves to cover basic education costs like special education staff and legally required student supports.
Student Transportation
Student Transportation is Not Fully Funded by the State
In the 2024-25 school year alone, $62.9 million in statewide school transportation expenses were left unfunded by the state.
State funding for student transportation follows a one-size-fits-all formula to hire and pay bus drivers, and pay for fuel, maintenance, and vehicle depreciation. Yet, transportation costs vary widely from district to district based on city/rural routes, number of bus stops, terrain, and number of students in need of specialized transportation.
Example districts
School District in Spokane County
(2024-25 Transportation)
$16.4 million (State funding)
– $17 million (Expenditures)
– $600,000
(Unfunded transportation expenses)
School District in Stevens County
(2024-25 Transportation)
$1.6 million (State funding)
– $1.73 million (Expenditures)
– $130,000
(Unfunded transportation expenses)
The Core Issue
Click to find out!The Core Issue
School districts should not have to rely on local levies and reserves to cover the basic costs of transporting students to and from school. These expenses fit squarely within the definition of “basic education,” for which the state is required to provide ample funding.
State Mandates
State Mandates for Public Schools Are Not Fully Funded
Schools are required to do and report hundreds of things without resources to support these mandates. While these requirements are often well-intended, unfunded mandates strain district budgets and can pull resources away from other essential services. Some examples include:
…And many more.
How school districts are communicating about school funding gaps
Districts across Washington are advocating for change in a variety of ways:
- Richland ‘pausing’ paraeducator layoffs announced this week. Here’s the new plan
- Reykdal seeks $3B injection for WA public schools in next budget
- ‘Don’t do this to our kids’: Hundreds of Seattle parents rally against school closures
- Parents protest Seattle Public Schools closure proposals
- WA school finance model needs to change to reflect reality
- Comment: Lawmakers must fix growing school funding shortfall
- 2024 Education Funding Report (League of Education Voters Foundation)
- Rising costs for Washington school districts outpace state funding, report finds
- WA school leaders make case for more spending despite court-ordered funding bumps
- Why WA school budgets are getting tighter, and what can be done about it
- Cowlitz County schools struggle despite WA special education funding increase
- Expiring COVID relief funds leave gap in Longview school budget
- Despite early start, Vancouver schools, teachers union still negotiating as end of contract approaches
- Districts Struggle to Find the Least Harmful Cuts as Budgets Shrink
- Lower enrollment causes Kelso to plan for budget cuts, combining 2 grades into 1 classroom
- Schools across WA are struggling to balance their budgets
- Mount Vernon High School music program feels effects of budget cuts
- School nurses worry about job security as pandemic funding expires
- School funding shortfalls in Yakima Valley fit into bigger statewide challenge
- Edmonds School District sells $200 million in construction bonds; refinances 2014 bonds to save money
- Royal School District discusses reducing positions, tighter budget
- Candidates vying to head OSPI spar over how state funds Wa’s public schools
- Deaf program families, staff push back against budget cuts at school board meeting
- Sequim schools looking at options with budget struggles
- Wenatchee School Board closes elementary, cuts 63 staff
- Yelm teachers union ‘blindsided’ by district sending layoff notices to a third of teaching staff
- 3 schools face closure in Marysville School District in fall 2025
- Will closing schools really balance the budget for Seattle Public Schools? Parents have their doubts
- School funding shortfalls like the one in Prescott are part of a bigger statewide issue
- McCleary required Washington to fully fund education—so why did the “fixes” worsen inequity?
Legislator Information
To find the legislators for your district, enter your address into the state’s Find My District online tool, or call 1-800-562-6000.
Sponsored by the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA).