In total, the proposed budget for K-12 education includes near general fund savings of $346.7 million over the four-year outlook period. 

Reductions include pausing the National Board certification bonuses, decreasing grants for paraeducator training due to underutilization, and the eliminating certain discretionary grant programs to recuperate underspent funds. 

The governor proposes targeted reductions in allocations that have historically been underspent. Regularly reviewing spending and reassessing priorities ensures the long-term sustainability of essential services for the people of Washington, protects the state's financial stability, and promotes public trust. 

These reductions are necessary to fund essential services in K-12 education, including the following investments.

Continue support of students’ nutrition needs

Simply put, when children are hungry, they cannot learn effectively. Washington has made significant progress in providing school meals at no cost to students in all areas of the state. In the 2024–25 school year, nearly 70% of Washington students attend schools offering free meals to all students.  

While the federal government provides most of the funding for no-cost meal programs, state funds ensure financial viability for local school meal programs. Additionally, 620,000 students from low-income households who are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive a $125 per month summer bonus to work toward the promise that no child will go hungry. 

($35.4 million GF-S, $1 million General Fund-Federal) 

Ensure equity for all students

The Office of Equity and Civil Rights within the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) plays a vital role to publish rules and guidelines to eliminate discrimination in Washington school districts, and to monitor and enforce district compliance with those rules and guidelines. With complaints currently over double the average historical caseload, additional funding will ensure timely investigations and corrective action. 

($642,000 GF-S)

Support school district financial health

Inflation continues to strain school district budgets. OSPI monitors the financial health of school districts but lacks the dedicated staff resources to support school districts through budget and fiscal challenges. To address this, the budget includes funding to assist districts in managing financial challenges. Having in-house expertise to deploy assistance to districts when and where needed will ensure that school fiscal challenges are addressed early in a solutions-focused manner.

($2.3 million GF-S) 

Prepare for the future of education in Washington

The proposed budget also includes funding to update the OSPI apportionment system. In doing so, OSPI hopes to reduce the administrative burden on districts. Every dollar spent on administration is a dollar that cannot be spent in the classroom educating students. 

($13.2 million GF-S) 

In total, the proposed budget for higher education includes near general fund savings of $6,841,000 over the outlook period. 

Reductions to Washington’s public two- and four-year colleges and universities will lower expenditures and enhance government efficiencies.  

These reductions were taken in order to fund necessary items in higher education and workforce development, including the following investments.

Strengthen our partnership with Tribal Communities

The Native American Scholarship pilot initiative at Washington State University, launched in the 2023–25 biennium, provides funding for stipends, honorariums, and meals for undergraduate students who are members of federally recognized Tribes. The governor proposes continued funding for this critical program to meet the unmet financial needs of Tribal students.

($2.2 million GF-S)

Support career and technical education  

The governor proposes increasing the ongoing support for the Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE) scholarship program. The WAVE scholarship honors the achievements of Washington’s top career and technical education students.  

($1 million Workforce Education Investment Account (WEIA))

Enhance dental education and care in Eastern Washington 

The proposed budget includes funding to support the creation of a new master’s degree program in dental therapy at Eastern Washington University (EWU). In 2023, Governor Inslee signed legislation into law that authorizes licensure of dental therapists in Washington state. Supporting EWU’s new degree program will enable more rural and underserved communities to have access to dental care as well as enhance dental education in Eastern Washington. 

($1.4 million GF-S) 

Expand the Shelton Promise Program

The Evergreen State College’s Shelton Promise program was established in the 2024 supplemental budget to support students in the Shelton School District, nearly 70% of whom forgo higher education. The governor proposes additional investment in the program to help eliminate barriers to education for Shelton students and their families. 

($901,000 GF-S)

Continue our commitment to college affordability

Washington continues to lead the nation in financial aid resources available to students from low- and middle-income households. The governor's proposed budget maintains the Washington College Grant eligibility to students from families making 0%–65% of the state’s median income, compared to the original 0%–55% threshold when the grant was first established.

($46.1 million WEIA) 

Support Washington’s next generation of behavioral health workers 

The governor’s proposed budget continues support for the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at the University of Washington, which provides care for individuals with serious physical and behavioral health challenges, while also training the next generation of behavioral health professionals. This investment in this unique facility demonstrates the governor’s commitment to transform the state’s behavioral health system.

($40 million GF-S)

Expand support for students experiencing homelessness 

The governor proposes funding to expand the Students Experiencing Homelessness program, first piloted in 2019, to include the Northwest Indian College. American Indian and Alaska Native students face the highest rates of housing insecurity and homelessness. Including the Northwest Indian College in this program will enable the college to build systems to identify and support students facing these challenges. 

($204,000 WEIA)

School Construction Assistance Program

The School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) is the primary way that schools across the state are built, renovated, and modernized. This program provides the state’s share of the funding for major projects, with local shares coming from bonds, levies, and other local sources. 

($557 million State Building Construction Account, $6 million school funds)

Small district and Tribal school modernization

Small and rural districts may struggle to pass bonds and levies, preventing them from becoming eligible for SCAP funding. The Small District Modernization Grant Program provides funding for Tribal schools and small districts (1,000 students or fewer) for small projects ($6 million per project or less) with no local match required. This program allows timber revenue to be directed back toward the communities that it comes from.

($251 million State Building Construction Account, $82 million school funds)

School Seismic Safety Grant Program

Designed for K-12 schools at high risk of collapse during a major earthquake or severe flooding during a tsunami, this program provides seismic retrofits and safety improvements for schools that can remain where they are and relocation for schools that cannot. 

($79 million State Building Construction Account)

Campus energy systems, decarbonization efforts, and clean buildings compliance

This budget invests in campus-wide energy systems and building decarbonization efforts at each of the state’s public four-year institutions, working to move each off natural gas-powered steam boilers (the largest contributors to campus greenhouse gas emissions) and onto clean electricity.

• The University of Washington: funds a micro district energy system south of Pacific Ave, replaces inefficient steam piping with hot water piping and includes heat recovery systems.

• Washington State University: continues buildout of first nodal heat pump and funds design of groundwater-based district energy systems to eliminate the natural gas-powered steam system

• Eastern Washington University: funds design of the first geothermal plant, as well as building envelope work to reduce heating and cooling inefficiency.

• Central Washington University: continues design for the second geothermal plant and underground infrastructure, as well as for local building modifications and connectivity. 

• The Evergreen State College: funds design for its largest campus building (Evans Hall) and dormitories to be disconnected from the central steam plant and transitioned to heat pumps and electric boilers. 

• Western Washington University: funds design and consultation work for a heating conversion project, which will be a combination of heat pumps, heat recovery chillers, and air-cooled chillers across four nodes. 

• State Board for Community and Technical Colleges: funds Clean Buildings Performance Standard compliance.

($120 million State Building Construction Account)

Functional improvements and facility preservation

In addition to major projects like new buildings and big renovations, colleges and universities are doing important work to keep their campuses running and make them more accessible and efficient. This can span a wide range of projects, including:

• Walkway improvements and lighting upgrades — especially important for students, faculty, and staff with limited vision and/or mobility — to allow everyone to feel welcome and safe.

• HVAC upgrades, which improve indoor air quality and temperature regulation, are necessary to combat both exterior air (wildfire smoke, pollution) and interior air (airborne virus) issues.
• Functional building envelopes (a roof that keeps out water and walls and windows that keep out cold or hot air) are key to a building’s function. Making buildings more impermeable also makes them more energy efficient and more sustainable to run. 
• Classroom and lab upgrades ensure that as pedagogy, technology, and degree demands change, so do education and research spaces. 

This budget invests heavily in these important maintenance and improvement projects, with the aim to keep our learners, researchers, and educators safe and able to do their work without environmental distraction. 

($188 million State Building Construction Account, $272 million higher education building accounts)

University of Washington 

Chemical Sciences Building and Bagley Hall 

This project will involve the demolition of the Chemistry Library, renovation of chemistry spaces in Bagley Hall, and construction of a new facility, the Chemical Sciences Building (CSB). The lab-focused CSB will enable chemical research for real-world applications, offer opportunities for chemical sciences research and education, and provide interdisciplinary overlap with the nearby molecular- and nano-engineering research centers. 

($124 million State Building Construction Account, $61 million local and philanthropic funds)

Washington State University

Pullman Sciences Building

This project will demolish the aging and inefficient Heald Hall, design a new Integrated Science Building (ISB), and prepare the building site for the future construction of the ISB on the Pullman campus. Construction of the ISB is planned for the 2027–29 biennium and will support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming in a wide array of disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry, data sciences, veterinary medicine, zoology, food systems, genetics, and materials science engineering.

($25 million State Building Construction Account)

Spokane Team Health Education Building

This budget funds the final design, site preparation, and construction of a new Team Health Education Building. This new building will serve as the focal point for experiential learning, clinical education through simulation, and clinical research on the Spokane campus, serving the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Nursing. 

($58 million State Building Construction Account)

Land grant mission 

Three projects focused on WSU’s land grant mission are included in this budget. Combined, they will support disease surveillance, food safety, climate-resilient agriculture, pest management, and more. 

• Puyallup: Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab Facility 

• Pullman: Dairy Modernization 

• Wenatchee: Tree Fruit Research & Extension Center Plant Growth Facility

($14 million State Building Construction Account) 

Eastern Washington University

Martin-Williamson Hall

This renovation will better integrate the School of Education and School of Psychology, as well as the counseling and psychological services center, into a collaborative facility that takes advantage of the synergistic nature of these programs, all while maintaining the historic building facade. 

($12 million State Building Construction Account) 

Lucy Covington Leadership House

This facility will serve as a center to support the success of Tribal students at the university and beyond. It honors the legacy of Lucy Covington, a prominent advocate for Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

($2 million State Building Construction Account) 

Central Washington University

Aviation degree expansion 

The aviation degrees and certificates at CWU are an important piece of workforce development. This stand-alone project at Bowers Airfield will expand and modernize the aviation hangar and instructional space to support enrollment growth and student success in this critical, high-demand occupational pathway. 

($10 million State Building Construction Account) 

Wildcat Farm composter 

The installation of a large, 10-by-30-foot Earth Flow industrial composting unit will help the university meet its goal of diverting 25% of all waste generated on campus by 2030 by processing up to 1,000 pounds of pre- and post-consumer food waste and converting it into compost to be used at the Wildcat Farm. Other infrastructure additions include a cold storage facility to wash, pack, and store produce, an outdoor classroom, and an all-gender composting toilet. 

($2 million State Building Construction Account) 

Western Washington University

Poulsbo instructional facility

This new facility will help serve the regional education and workforce needs of the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas, an educationally underserved region with many nontraditional and rural students.  Additionally, it will enable WWU to expand the Cyber Range project, which provides cybersecurity education for two- and four-year institutions of higher education and K-12 districts throughout the state.

($7 million State Building Construction Account)

State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Olympic College - Innovation and Technology Learning Center

A new facility will house five unique STEM-focused computer-based lab spaces, including a Maker Space, multiple modern and flexible classrooms, office space, and informal collaborative spaces. The new building will co-locate active learning classrooms, hands-on labs, and student study space.

($31 million State Building Construction Account, $1 million from building fees) 

Lower Columbia College - Center for Vocational and Transitional Studies 

The Cowlitz County Economic Development Council indicates that more than 30,000 manufacturing jobs need to be filled in the Southwest Washington-Portland region as the existing workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. This project provides program-specific space for machining, welding, information technology, and transitional studies. This facility will aid in training a skilled workforce and supporting economic growth in the region.

($45 million State Building Construction Account)

Columbia Basin College - Performing Arts building replacement 

This replacement facility will serve visual arts, performing arts (theater and music), multimedia, and innovation center programs, while allowing for program flexibility, adaptability, collaboration, and interdisciplinary learning. 

($55 million State Building Construction Account)

Whatcom Community College - Technology and Engineering Center

Construction of this new facility will provide programmatic space for computer science, computer information systems, IT networking, cybersecurity, engineering, and transitional learning programs. 

($51 million State Building Construction Account)

Cascadia College - CC5 Gateway Building

Current facilities impede success for the college’s most vulnerable students (e.g., students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first-generation students, students with disabilities, and those with limited English language skills). The construction of a new Gateway Building will address the problem of inefficient and inadequate student service spaces, bringing all student services (outreach, onboarding, retention, and completion) for all student populations (adult basic education, worker retraining, academic transfers, and international) together in one building. 

($40 million State Building Construction Account)

Edmonds College - Triton Learning Commons

This project will renovate 5,411 gross square feet and add 39,010 gross square feet to the existing library and student services facility. 

($44 million State Building Construction Account)