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State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s Statement on Governor Ferguson’s Budget Proposal

"Today, Governor Ferguson released his 2026 Supplemental Budget proposal. Below is State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s statement."

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal at the Podium [ [link removed] ]

*OLYMPIA—December 23, 2025—*This afternoon, Governor Ferguson released his 2026 Supplemental Budget proposal.

There is no question that it’s hard to write a budget. As families and communities across the state are facing high inflation and high costs, they are working toward affordability—and our state should be, too.

Unfortunately, this budget proposal takes an austerity approach. While that’s a common response to financial challenges, what’s troubling is that we know so much about income inequality and tax inequality in our state, and we can’t keep putting budget proposals forward that don’t take that inequality into account.

This budget, like others before it, closes the holes in Washington’s budget on the backs of public services. 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.

In a state that is rooted in justice and committed to equity, we should be talking about moving forward. Cuts to public services hurt us. They directly shrink incomes and jobs, and ultimately, cause immense harm.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Washington state is ranked 40th in the nation for the percentage of our economy (Gross Domestic Product) that we reinvest in our K–12 public schools. If we increased our level of investment just to meet the national average, our schools would receive $4 billion more per year, about $4,000 more per student.

That’s a massive difference in personalized learning options for students, smaller class sizes, a living wage for our paraeducators, and so much more. Instead, though, this budget and prior budgets have cut our state’s funding per student by $500 per student over the last six years when adjusted for inflation.

Not only are our investments below the national average, we are also going in the wrong direction. We can do better than this! By the 8th grade, there are only four states that statistically outperform Washington’s students in reading. Our performance is average in math, and we need to double down on our investments to turn that around, not make more cuts.

No cuts to early learning are going to make our youngest learners more prepared for kindergarten. No cuts to dual credit 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.

Washington state is home to some of the highest earners in the country. The recent tax cuts by the Trump Administration are going to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires by at least $10 billion per year in our state alone.

*I reject the notion that in Washington, a state that is so deeply committed to opportunity, our only choice is to cut public services because fair taxation isn’t possible. *

Middle-class families shouldn’t be paying 10–12% of their income in state taxes while the very wealthy pays only 2–3%. A state as forward thinking and innovative as ours should be bold enough to put budgets forward that require the very wealthy to pay their fair share.

For example: Across the state, taxpayers pay $5 billion a year collectively in the state property tax. If we cut that in half and shift some of the tax burden to the very wealthy, the average family in our state would save between $600–$1,000 per year. Families would get tax relief, and it would put 10 times as much money into housing supports, through lower property taxes, than the proposals for housing put forward this year.

We have to move beyond the broken playbook of economic distress where we cut public services, wonder why they don’t get the best results, and then continue the cycle. We have to talk about tax reform, fairness, and shifting the burden from the middle class to those that can afford to pay, especially after they just got the biggest tax cut in U.S. history.

So, this year, and the year after that, I will be proposing transformative ways to fully fund our K–12 schools, and I will be including tax considerations in my proposals. We have the second-most regressive tax structure in the nation, and we are overdue for a real shift toward progressive revenue.

I thank the Governor for the hard work of balancing the budget––it's not easy to do. I challenge lawmakers with the next step. Take the opportunity to think progressively and creatively and trust the voters. Voters want lower taxes, they want the tax code to be fair, and they want their taxes to be invested in their local schools.

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.



For More Information

* Recorded Remarks: "State Superintendent Chris Reykdal's Remarks About Governor Ferguson's 2026 Supplemental Budget Proposal " [ [link removed] ]





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Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.

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