Welcome to This Week in Olympia, your weekly briefing on what's happening under the dome and why it matters for Washington's public schools. I'm your host, Marissa Rathbone, and each week we'll break down the fast-moving action in Olympia. The hearings, the headlines, and the bills you'll want to keep an eye on. Whether you're a district leader, educator, or just policy curious, we're here to make the legislature feel a little more accessible and a lot easier to follow. Let's get into what moved this week and what's coming next. Hello everyone and welcome to This Week in Olympia. I'm Marissa Rathbone, a proud product of Washington Public Schools and your advocacy director with WASA. I'm going to shorten that title from now on. I think you know a little bit better who I am, at least my title. There's a lot to say this week and a lot to say in the weeks ahead. So I want to start this week's podcast with a story, of course, but this time from one of my favorite shows, and hopefully maybe it's one of yours too. The name of that show is Shrinking. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend. It's ultimately a story about humanity, about grief and perfection and the ways we show up for one another. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes messily, sometimes a combination of both. It's also just hilarious. The characters are endearing and maddening as they go about their lives, also just like the rest of us. It's about how our flaws are often the very things that make us both lovable and frustrating. It captures the difficulty and the joy of a life fully lived and how quickly all of that seems to move. We're constantly trying to do more, have more, be more for ourselves and for those that we love and care about around us. And then we're reminded that it all ends sooner than we think. There's a line in the show that's really been sitting with me this week. It's a moment between two of the characters, Brian and Derek. Brian is really struggling with a personal issue and Derek is doing what good friends do, really hearing him out, supporting him, and gently offering some perspective. It goes a little bit like this. Derek offers to Brian that everything is going to be okay but just maybe not the way that you want and reminds him that all we can do is believe that everything will turn out the way it is supposed to That what everything is going to be okay really means And that feels really especially relevant this week as we think about the legislative session this past week, and especially in the week ahead. And I'll tell you more about that in a bit. I want to turn my attention to some things that happened this week. Across Washington, districts receive levy and bond results. For some of you, everything turned out just the way you hoped. Congratulations, your community showed up in support of your students and your schools, and that matters. And for others, it didn't turn out the way that you hoped or needed. And I want to acknowledge that. I'm so sorry. I know how much effort, vulnerability, and leadership goes into asking your community to invest in public education. When the result isn't what you hoped for. It's not just political, it's personal. The results of this election don't exist in a vacuum. House Bill 2116, the bill we've been watching closely as affixed to the local effort assistance response, did not progress this session. The original version fulfilled a commitment made in the 2025 legislative session to equalize districts following a levy lid lift and to better support districts that rely on LEA. Without a statutory fix, there is a cliff in 2028. Districts that depend on LEA will face a significant drop unless the legislature acts. House Bill 2116 was our hope to address that now proactively instead of waiting for the inequity to deepen. And excuse me, I'm just going to do a little cough here. That makes this week's levy outcomes a little more significant or a lot more significant because for many districts, local voters are being asked to stabilize a system that still contains structural inequities. At the legislature, we've now passed fiscal cutoff. That happened last Monday, and now bills with a fiscal impact are progressing as they needed to move out of those fiscal committees to remain alive. That milestone narrows the field for us, but does not simplify what comes next. The focus now of our legislature is squarely on balancing the budget. Next week, following the updated revenue forecast, we expect to see proposed budgets from both the House and Senate. Those proposals will frame the real negotiations What will be funded what reduced or cut what deferred and if anything is new The dominant conversation that continues to center all of this is on revenue including versions of a wealth or a millionaire's tax. At the same time, we are watching closely for reductions that could impact K-12. I'll also share candidly, I'm hearing early indications that the House and Senate proposed operating budgets may come in tighter for K-12 than the governor's proposal. And if you recall, the governor's budget really proposed cuts to transition to kindergarten and LEA and a few other programs. I think we're going to see those reductions and potentially deeper ones in the House and Senate proposals next week. We may also see some creative mechanisms intended to help close the state's budget shortfall that ultimately shift pressure to K-12. We will report to you as soon as we know for certain what's included, and when we see cuts that undermine stability or equity, we will push back hard and we'll need your help to do that. But I want you to be ready for it to whatever degree one can be ready for these kinds of proposals. The next phase of session is going to require steadiness, clarity, and strong collective advocacy. Through all of it, our message to legislators remain steady. If the state wants to pass new education policy this session, it must either fund it or stop it. Local districts cannot continue absorbing the cost of state decisions through levies, fund balance, or one-time solutions. Communities are supportive in some cases, but they are not an unlimited backstop. And reliance on local funding continues to widen the inequities between districts. So what does everything is going to be okay really mean here? It doesn't mean we throw our hands up in frustration, say I give up. It doesn't mean we stop caring or lower our expectations or accept inequity because it feels hard to fix. It means we keep pursuing the things we want and care about because that's what feeds us and that's what gives this work meaning and that's what leadership is. At the end of the day, it's about fighting for the things that matter. Otherwise, we'd just be sitting on a beach in the sun eating snacks all day, which to be fair, actually sounds kind of nice. Wait, what am I doing here? I'm just kidding. I love supporting and serving this work for you. But truly we're here because this matters. Public education matters, students matter, equity matters and the future of our state matters And there are concrete things that we can do right now First message your legislators and urge them to hear House Bill 2257 and pass the exemption for K-12 on the proposed sales tax for services and professional learning. If the state moves forward with expanding sales tax to services, schools must be exempt. Taxing professional learning, instructional services, and core supports we already know from your direct impact stories and data increases cost to districts at a time when budgets are already really stretched thin. Second, please read the letter and attachments accompanying this podcast. They ask legislative leaders to either stop advancing, to amend, or to fund any bills that cost staff time, tool, or add a tool or compliance requirements, materials, or resources. Share that same message with your legislators. Sometimes strong advocacy isn't about adding something new. Sometimes it's about stopping something harmful, and we're doing a lot of that this legislative session. It's also sometimes about amending a bill so that if it passes, it doesn't create an unfunded mandate. Undoing harm is advocacy. Protecting capacity is advocacy, even when we have other ideas about what we wish the legislature would prioritize most or advance for us. The next few weeks will be consequential. Budget proposals will be public. Negotiations will intensify. Decisions will narrow. And we will stay at the table, clear, consistent, and focused on what Washington's students and school leaders need. Everything is going to be okay. Maybe not exactly the way we want, but because we keep showing up and fighting for what matters. WASA is in this with you. And finally, Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate. Our hearts are with you as you navigate difficult and important decisions in your own districts for your students and staff. If your why is that you love kids and you want them to be successful, you're still in the right place. You are, in fact, part of what is holding all of this together. Thank you.
