A draft of the reduced education plan (REP) was introduced at the April 1st 2025 School Board meeting. 
Please continue to be LOUD about state funding: email AND call your legislators.
More details about the REP can be found on page 25.
The targeted reduction amount is $6.5M. The district is hoping to end the school year $2M higher than budgeted as is typical due to their conservative estimates in order to reach the $8.5M estimated budget deficit (page 21).
Closed door union negotiations are taking place to reach the $5M in reductions still needed after $1.5M in non-contractural positions are reduced (these are listed on page 26). 
Looking for a way to take action and make an impact?  
Subscribe to the Shoreline Action Network (SAN) using the black button above.
Action alert emails are sent only during legislative session (January-April) and include quick and easy ways to communicate with legislators and keep public education at the top of their priority list.
Not seeing the weekly SAN emails? Check your junk folder!
Since Washington state currently underfunds public education by approximately $4B, the action network is focused on legislation that affects funding. Learn more about how the Shoreline Action Network operates here.
Also consider subscribing to Washington State PTA Action Alerts and National PTA Alerts.

Be an Advocate: stay update to date with this live google doc and help share information!

 What is Advocacy? Advocacy is anything you do for the welfare of your students, families, school community, or district.
It’s seeing or hearing about an issue, and doing something about it, even if it’s just to inform your members, or bring it to the attention of school leaders or legislators. And since advocacy is in the very DNA of PTA, it should be part of every board member’s job. This year I'm trying to make it easy for you by providing a link (see above) to a working google document for information to share at your local board meetings. Advocacy chairs should also make an effort to attend WSPTA's Legislative Assembly and Focus Day or send a representative from their school if unable to attend. Please follow our Shoreline PTA Council 6.12 Facebook page and share posts on your school's social media. 

Legislative Session 2025: What You Need to Know Now

  • Subscribe to WSPTA Action Alerts (linked above) to get lobbyist Marie Sullivan's in depth weekly reports, more than what is covered by the Shoreline Action Network (SAN). However, there won't be weekly calls to action. For weekly actionable items involving funding, subscribe to the SAN. 
  • Want to DIY your own legislative agenda?
  • Want a short cut? The Shoreline Action Network is focused on legislation that addresses the "Big 3" (the largest of the statewide funding gaps) and is impactful for the Shoreline School District. Subscribe and receive time sensitive weekly "alerts" when the bills listed below and other funding related bills are scheduled for hearings and need a push to move through the legislative process.
    • Special Education
      • Dead: HB 1310 & SB 5307 (companion bills)-did not survive cutoff
      • Dead: HB 1357-at the last minute this bill replaced HB 1310 in the House Committee of Appropriations but did not survive cut off
      • SB 5263-still alive and Senate version is better than the House which it reduced it to 1357
    • MSOC-materials supplies and operating costs (IE insurance, utilities)
      • Dead: HB 1338-  reduced to $5.55/student increase and did not survive cutoff
      • SB 5192- still alive and Senate version is slightly better than the House which reduced it to 1338
    • Transportation

Legislative Advocacy: why funding is the focus

  • Enrollment is up but expenditures continue to outpace revenue. Shoreline School District's current projected unreserved ending fund balance for '24-'25 is $4.4M, which is 2.4%, and 4-5% is the standard goal for school district fiscal health and stability. For '25-'26 we are projected to be at a negative $2.1M unreserved fund balance and enter binding conditions by the end of '27 (due to a negative total ending fund balance) if timely and appropriate reductions are not made.
  • State and federal funding does not support the current full program of education in Shoreline. Washington State public schools are chronically underfunded, and Shoreline School District provides much more educational and support services than are paid for by the state.
    • For instance, most districts do not have deans/assistant principals at the elementary level or full-time librarians or nurses at all schools. Other underfunded positions include counselors, psychologist, paraeducators and family advocates.
  • Rising costs mean that our expenses are projected to exceed our revenues this year by $4 million.We must continue to take significant steps to avoid binding conditions so we can continue providing high-quality education to our students. 
    • Salary and benefit expenses exceed state funding by $27 million.
    • Materials, supplies, and operating costs (MSOC for short) which includes legally mandated insurance exceed state funding by $2.2 million.
    • Legally mandated special education services for students exceed state and federal funding by $8 million.
    • Substitute costs exceed state funding by $1.2 million
  • While districts should not have to, we rely on local levy collections to provide the essential services needed to meet the needs of our students, to support a fair living wage for our staff, and to provide additional staffing beyond what is state funded. In addition, the maximum amount we can ask for from our voters is capped by the state.
  • Declining enrollment equates to less funding from the state
  • Learn more about the Shoreline School District budget emergency, what has been done to address it so far, and what options we have to balance our budget.
  • Shoreline is not alone in this crisis. ​"Nationally, Washington ranks in the bottom third of states in terms of how much funding it devotes to schools compared with its economic capacity — even while it ranks in the top five states for gross state product per capita, according to the School Finance Indicators Database." Many other Washington state districts are facing deeper cuts and 6 are now in binding conditions. www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/schools-across-wa-are-struggling-to-balance-their-budgets/
How Did We Get Here?
School funding is complex, but a simplified answer is: 
  • ​Washington State's restructuring of K-12 education funding in 2018 due to the McCleary case, resulted in all school districts having less flexibility and less revenue than under the previous funding structure as a way to address the inequality of levies.
  • The COVID crisis then gave our schools: 
    • 1) new crises that drew down reserves
    • 2) new needs, paired with federal funding, which delayed budget cut decisions
    • 3) declines in student enrollment.
  • Most recently, inflation has driven up school operating costs, which has not been matched by increased state funding.
  • Shoreline is already at the max of our cap for our local levy funding, so we cannot currently raise more money locally to make up the shortfall between our operating costs and the state funding. Thus, we face budget cuts.
Learn more from SSD: School Closure Consideration and the Budget Advisory Team.

Take Action:

Advocacy is better with a buddy! Plan a monthly meet-up with friends to check the latest advocacy updates, email legislators, or just talk over the most recent school board meeting minutes. It can seem overwhelming to stay up-to-date on your own - share the task with friends! For more tips on what to say or write to legislators read the looking ahead to legislative session 2025 section below and its linked resources or email [email protected].

​1). Follow up with your State legislators. Thank them for their time and investments, but remind them that these gaps still exist for Shoreline and many other districts: special education, MSOC (utilities/insurance), transportation, and an understaffed prototypical school model.  Let them know: 43% of the state budget is going towards the “paramount duty” of public education instead of 51% at its peak. Funding has decreased by over $1k per pupil since 2019.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/

​1st Legislative District (Lake Forest Park): 32nd Legislative District (Shoreline): ​
2). Consider contacting your Federal legislators regarding IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding. Under IDEA, the federal government committed to pay 40% of the average per pupil expenditure for special education. However, that pledge has never been fully met, and current funding is at risk with the threat of the dissolution of the Department of Education.
Ask the federal government to defend the Department of Education and fully fund the IDEA commitment which would fill many districts’ special education funding gaps.
https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Washington State PTA Federal Resources and Federal Legislative Committee
National PTA Federal Action Alerts

3). Stay informed by attending upcoming School Board meetings or watch/read past School Board meeting minutes/agendas.
​
4). Stay connected to your local PTA, PTA council and/or consider joining the PTA Council Advocacy Committee. Learn more here.
​
5). Spread the word and ask other Shoreline and LFP public school supporters to subscribe to the Action Network.

Thank you for reading and for your collaborative advocacy!

Further Questions?  Want to do More? Contact us!

If you have any questions or want to be more involved, please reach out to your own school's PTA Advocacy Chair or the Shoreline PTA Council's Advocacy Chair, Malorie Larson.

Shoreline PTA Council's Advocacy email: [email protected]
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