There’s no question that public school funding in Washington is in crisis. Districts across the state are struggling with budget deficits, including locally in Bellevue and Seattle. Seattle faces an approximately $100 million hole in 2025-26 and narrowly avoided a plan to close four elementary schools to deal with deep district-wide cuts.
The fight for funding has resumed
The Billion Dollar Bake Sale – Washington campaign is a statewide effort to push Washington State lawmakers to fully fund K-12 public schools during the next legislative session, which begins January 13 and ends April 27, 2025. During the session, lawmakers will decide the next biennial state budget. Per the campaign’s website, Washington State has the 3rd highest GDP per capita of any state in the country, but spends the 2nd lowest percentage of its GDP on public education. The campaign aims to change that by securing at least $4 billion per year of stable long-term funding for K-12 public education.
At the heart of the campaign are bake sales held in January — symbolic or real — conducted by parents, organizations, groups, and districts across the state meant to rally people around the cause.
The campaign is aiming to reach as many PTAs/PTOs and other educational organizations as possible across Washington in the next couple of weeks, and are halfway through their list. An “action toolkit” is available to help participants navigate their involvement.
The campaign will culminate in the delivery of postcards from parents to families, educators and community members to lawmakers requesting full funding of school needs in Washington. Postcards will be collected at bake sales and parent to parent.
Local parents are already joining the effort, including advocates at All Together for Seattle Schools, which was initially created to stop SPS from closing schools to meet its deficit and now has expanded its aims to include state education funding. Campaign organizers have suggested families band together to charter buses from their schools to Olympia or consider taking Amtrak, where kids ages 18 and under ride for free.
Start your planning
Parents interested in participating in the Billion Dollar Bake Sale campaign can start by:
- Connecting with other parents, PTAs, or your district to choose a date for a bake sale. Consider community events or school board meetings where a bake sale would get good publicity and visibility.
- Discussing whether to make and sell baked goods at the sale and who would benefit from the funds raised. For example, money could go to a school’s PTA/PTO or to pay for buses to bring families to Olympia on January 30 for Advocacy Day (more below).
- Sign up on the campaign’s website to receive more updates
“The legislature can better fund schools in 2025, but they need to hear from parents and caregivers across the state that funding K-12 education should be a top priority,” campaign organizer Alex Wakeman Rouse wrote to TOPS parents.
January 30 Advocacy Day
Education advocates from around the state are expected to head to Olympia on January 30 to hold the “ultimate Billion Dollar Bake Sale” as part of an Advocacy Day event. Billion Dollar Bake Sale organizers are calling on lawmakers to:
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Prevent devastating school district cuts for 2025-26
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Secure at least $4 billion per year of stable long-term funding for K-12 public education
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Commit to making Washington State a leader in public education
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