The 2025 K–12 Funding Equity Workgroup Annual Report delivers a clear message to state lawmakers: Washington’s education system cannot achieve equity or adequacy until the people who keep schools running—classified staff—are properly funded.
The Workgroup, created by House Bill 2049, was charged with rethinking how the state funds K–12 education, considering regional, economic, and demographic differences. While the Legislature did not fund the group’s research this year, members – including representatives from education labor unions, community organizations, and school administrators – used their first year to identify urgent priorities for 2026.
PSE President Heather Christianson and I served as active members of the Workgroup. Both of us contributed to the State, Local, and Regional Needs Subgroup which examined funding disparities across districts and focused on the underfunding of classified school staff.
Underfunding hurts students and staff alike
The subgroup’s findings echoed what PSE members see every day: the state’s prototypical school funding model fails to adequately support classified staff—bus drivers, paraeducators, custodians, food service workers, office professionals, and others who make education possible. The report states plainly that “Classified staff positions are inadequately funded and require urgent attention.”
Because the state underfunds these essential roles, districts must rely heavily on local levies just to meet payroll and keep schools functioning. This creates vast inequities among districts, depending on their local property wealth, and blurs the line between state responsibility and local enrichment. As Superintendent Chris Reykdal warned, “The current funding model will starve our schools of the resources they need to provide every student a basic education.”
Recommendations for the Legislature
Supt. Reykdal’s recommendations to the Legislature align with the priorities voiced by labor and education advocates:
- Fix the funding adequacy gap now, while developing a long-term funding model that centers both adequacy and equity.
- Provide new state funding for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to continue the Workgroup’s research and contract with higher education and nonpartisan policy institutions.
- Clarify the state’s definition of “funding equity” to ensure consistent goals and accountability.
- Explore structural reforms that reduce administrative overhead and free up resources for frontline school staff.
The report also calls for reviewing regional pay formulas to reflect real living costs, strengthening safety nets for small and rural districts, simplifying complex funding formulas, and creating sustainable, statewide revenue sources that reduce dependence on local levies.
What it means for classified staff
For classified school employees, the message is clear: Washington’s education system cannot be truly equitable until the people who feed, transport, and care for students are funded fairly. As PSE leaders emphasized through their participation, addressing inequities for classified staff is essential to improving student learning and community well-being.
As lawmakers prepare for the 2026 legislative session, unions and school employees have a critical opportunity to demand a funding system that reflects the state’s constitutional “paramount duty.” It’s time for Washington to invest in the people who make education possible every day.
Classified staff are the foundation of public education—and they deserve a funding model that finally recognizes their value.
Read the OSPI report to the Legislature here.