Gov. Bob Ferguson’s decision to veto $300,000 in funding for Washington’s Prime Time Family Reading Program is raising questions among educators and advocates who say the cut will have an outsized impact on families across the state. The veto came as part of a nearly $80 billion budget signed recently, where most major spending decisions remained intact—but this relatively minor line item did not.
The reading program, launched by Humanities Washington in 2012, takes a family-centered approach to literacy. Held in libraries and community spaces rather than classrooms, it brings kids identified as struggling readers and their parents or a chosen adult together over six weeks to share meals, read, and discuss themes like empathy and justice—building both reading skills and stronger family connections. The program currently serves about 5,000 young readers, including those from immigrant, refugee, and Tribal communities, across Washington. Several thousand kids participate in program sites in King County.
Leaders of Washington Humanities, which runs the reading program, were “baffled” by Ferguson’s decision. The program was funded by the legislature to the tune of $1 million in both the 2021–2023 and 2023–2025 state biennial budgets. At first, it was not included in the 2025-2027 budget, but lawmakers later added the $300,000 allocation to the final biennial budget they approved in March.
“That’s why it’s so surprising,” said Julie Ziegler, executive director of Humanities Washington. “$300,000 is a lot of money. I don’t want to make it sound like we don’t understand the responsibility that comes with that, but in the context of the state budget, it is very, very small — especially when you consider the impact of the program and how efficiently and effectively it’s administered.”
“Kids who are identified by their teachers, their principals, their reading specialists, as being good candidates for this program because they just really haven’t responded to school interventions like extra tutoring, support, what have you,” Ziegler said of the program. “For whatever reason, they don’t have the confidence or engage in negative self-talk about reading, or they’ve already decided that maybe they’re just not readers like their peers
“It’s really beneficial to the kids to take reading out of the school setting for a bit and involve their families, involve other community members, and connect them with their local libraries, where they certainly strengthen their core reading skills, but also begin to understand that reading unlocks so many other ideas and opportunities,” she added. “That’s why it’s a reading and discussion program — we involve the kids in discussions of themes like fairness and compassion and perseverance — all values that we want to instill in our children, right? But we do it in a way that helps reignite interest in learning and reading.”
Without the state funding, Ziegler said the program will need to be cut back significantly and only be offered in communities where there are donations to cover it.” That largely means metro areas, leaving more rural communities without the support.
“We have more than 90 requests for the program for the year and will have to turn most of those down,” she said.
Ziegler said the governor’s office did not reach out to the program before the veto of the funding.
“What I would say to him is this: Please help me understand why you made this decision, because I’m wondering if they really fully understood the impact and effectiveness of this program. I’d love for him to come out and visit.”
As for that “why” Zielger wants to hear, Ferguson’s veto said only: “Educational programs like these are important, but our state’s fiscal situation necessitates tough choices.” His office couched the decision on shortfall rhetoric:
“We had to balance our budget in the face of a $2.3 billion shortfall,” said the governor’s Deputy Communications Director, Dan Jackson. “The Governor and the Legislature made many tough decisions to balance the budget, including difficult cuts. Instead of restarting funding with an additional one-time $300,000, the governor used those resources to protect core services for Washingtonians.”
Budget deficit or not, Zielger stressed that she will be going back to lawmakers and the governor during the next legislative session.
