A School Finance State Policy Problem:
School districts in Washington state and across the country have demonstrated a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, investing federal stimulus funding into programs that recent research shows positively impacted student achievement. Yes students and families have not fully received from the impacts of the pandemic. Moreover, the recent gains have not been even across student populations, and many districts are struggling to address student mental health and academic needs. Districts are also facing budget deficits resulting from declining enrollment, high inflation, leveling state funding, and expiring federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) stimulus dollars. Read our longer problem statement definition (coming soon).
Moving Toward a Solution: What is the UW-Superintendents United in Partnership for Equitable Schools (UW-SUPES)?
To help advance and build consensus around needed K-12 school finance policy reforms in Washington state, the University of Washington College of Education partnered with school district superintendents from across the state to build a coalition around a set of school finance “policy possibilities,” building in part from legislative priorities of multiple associations and organizations of Washington’s educators (WASA, 2024; WEA, 2024; WSSDA, 2024a).
Led by Superintendents Kelly Aramaki and Trevor Greene, as well as Dean Mia Tuan and Professors Anthony Craig and David Knight, the group has held one- and two-day convenings in July and October 2024, March, June, and November of 2025, and March and July of 2026. The central purpose is to refine their collective vision for establishing an ample and equitable K-12 funding system for all students.
Additional Reading
Reports by Dr. David Knight and Kendall Fujioka describing the first three convenings:
Read about the first convening, in the summer 2024, Convening Superintendents to Envision Ample and Equitable School Funding for Every Washington Child (Part 1):
https://www.education.uw.edu/epal/?page_id=792
Read about the second convening, in the fall 2024, Sustaining a Shared Vision of Ample and Equitable K-12 Funding in Washington: A Convening of Superintendents to Support School finance Reform (Part 2):
https://www.education.uw.edu/epal/?page_id=839
Read about the third convening, in the spring 2025, Reconvening Superintendents to Sustain a Shared Vision of Ample and Equitable K-12 Funding in Washington (Part 3):
https://www.education.uw.edu/ctp/sites/default/files/2025-08/Fujioka-Knight-etal_UW-Supt-Convening-part3.pdf
Additional media describing the work of UW-SUPES:
The Stranger op-ed by Rep. Shaun Scott, How to End the Class War on Washington’s Classrooms https://www.thestranger.com/guest-editorial/2024/09/11/79689361/how-to-end-the-class-war-on-washingtons-classrooms
Seattle Times: How WA superintendents are stepping up with school funding rescue plan https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/how-wa-superintendents-are-stepping-up-with-school-funding-rescue-plan/
Yakima Herald: Meet the Washington superintendents who want to make K-12 education funding more equitable https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/education/meet-the-washington-superintendents-who-want-to-make-k-12-education-funding-more-equitable/article_92addb7c-ad16-4a0c-ac1a-2eea56271cd6.html
NBC News Local Affiliate: Forum on school funding challenges set for Davis High School https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/forum-on-school-funding-challenges-set-for-davis-high-school/article_f31ab438-8d86-11ef-8c6f-3b3af6c8e482.html
Cascadia Daily News: 20 WA superintendents are reenvisioning state’s ‘broken’ K-12 funding model https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/aug/06/20-wa-superintendents-are-reenvisioning-states-broken-k-12-funding-model/
Yakima Herald: Yakima forum highlights K-12 education funding gaps and what can be done about it https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/education/yakima-forum-highlights-k-12-education-funding-gaps-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/article_9dfc79e6-cc1b-4310-8cbf-03abf4a61968.html
Read the group's February 2026 letter to the Washington state legislature and Gov. Ferguson: Letter to Governor Ferguson and Washington State Legislators https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X0xWHPn0GLLjkdNGLYcl82jRwTIgFwJn/view?usp=sharing
Relevant Policy Briefs from the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy:
How Washington’s Transition to Kindergarten Program Addresses Childcare Deserts: Current State Funding Caps and Proposed Funding Cuts Exacerbate Gaps in Access to Early Learning and Disproportionally Harm Higher-Poverty Communities by David Knight, Merina Mou, and Lili Hynes
Understanding the Impacts of Property Tax Limits and Tax Base Equalization by David Knight, Pooya Almasi, and Kendall Fujioka
Principal Retention and Turnover During the Covid-19 Era: Do Students Have Equitable Access to Stable School Leadership? by David Knight, Christopher Candelaria, Min Sun, Pooya Almasi, Jinseok Shin, and David DeMatthews
Teacher Retention and Turnover During the Covid-19 Era: How Changes in Attrition Differed across Teachers and Schools in Washington State by David Knight, Christopher Candelaria, Min Sun, Pooya Almasi, Lu Xu, and Alex Liu
Creating an Adequate and Equitable School Finance System in Washington State: Recommendations for State Policymakers by David Knight, Bruce Baker, Ajay Srikanth, Mark Weber, and Kendall Fujioka