Legislative Updates

Take Action! Three important K-12 funding bills are being heard in the Ways and Means committee this week: Senate Bills 51875192, and 5263. Please take a minute to go to the links below and sign- in PRO on each of these bills by February 11 at 3pm. 

Levies

  • Reminder: Levy votes must be in by February 11, 2025. We strongly encourage the Bryant community to educate themselves about these levies and vote! While the EP&O levy has not raised much controversy, we know that there are a lot of differing opinions on the BEX VI levy, including concern that it includes $150M to build a new school in NE Seattle. This op-ed and this op-ed demonstrate some of the wide-ranging perspectives on this levy. You can also go here to read SPS’s response to some FAQs and see the Bryant-specific workplans under the BEX VI levy. There is a lot of information out there so do the research and vote!

Lastly, the Washington PTA Focus on Advocacy Week will be from Feb 10-14 and the Advocacy Day in Olympia will be on February 17th.  Go here for more information and to get involved!

Advocacy Update

Reminder: Levy votes must be in by February 11, 2025. We strongly encourage the Bryant community to educate themselves about these levies and vote! While the E&O levy has not raised much controversy, we know that there are a lot of differing opinions on the BEX VI levy, including concern that it includes $150M to build a new school in NE Seattle. This op-ed and this op-ed demonstrate some of the wide-ranging perspectives on this levy.  You can also go here to read SPS’s response to some FAQs and see the Bryant-specific workplans under the BEX VI levy. There is a lot of information out there so do the research and vote! 

Legislative updates:

There are many important bills that impact K-12 education being heard in the legislature this week. If you are interested in learning more or taking a minute to sign in “PRO” on any of these bills please visit this Seattle Council PTSA blog which summarizes the relevant bills. 

Also, three school fundings bill were voted out of  the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee last week SB 5263 (special education funding), SB 5192 (MSOC), and SB 5187 (student transportation funding))! All three bills are now heading to the Ways and Means Committee.

Lastly, the Washington PTA Focus on Advocacy Week will be from Feb 10-14 and the Advocacy Day in Olympia will be on February 17th.  Go here for more information and to get involved!

Help sign PRO on House Bill 1310 by January 30th to increase special education funding!

It is great to see that funding K-12 education is a top priority during this legislative session! This Thursday various K-12 funding bills will be heard in the House including Rep. Pollet’s bill to increase special education funding that he discussed at our Bryant legislative panel a few weeks ago.  As we know, insufficient special education funding is one of the primary reasons SPS currently faces a large budget deficit. Please take a minute to go here and sign-in PRO on this bill.

The Senate heard a group of important K-12 funding bills last week, and this Thursday three of these bills are scheduled for executive session (this is where legislators will vote on whether the bills should leave committee and continue through the legislative process). The bills are SB 5263 (special education funding), SB 5192 (MSOC), and SB 5187 (student transportation funding). The Bryant PTSA supports all three of these bills!

Also, on the same day as these hearings/executive sessions, advocates are meeting in Olympia to rally for increased K-12 funding! If you want to be part of the action and support our schools, attend this advocacy day!

Lastly, remember to keep informed about the school levies, there is a lot of information available from SPS, advocates and news outlets. Votes must be in by February 11th, 2025!

January 8 Legislative Panel

State Representative Gerry Pollet and others, will be joining the Bryant community on a panel on January 8th, to share their insights on the future of K-12 funding in Olympia this legislative session, and the best ways the Bryant community can help advocate for increased funding for Washington state schools.  
 
When: January 8, 7-8pm
Where: On-line
 

RSVP here

 
Currently Washington state public schools are significantly underfunded, leading to limited resources, budget deficits and school closures. To ensure our children get the education they deserve, and that we aren’t again in a position next year where we are worried about school closures and rezoning, we need more funding. Come hear how we can make that happen at this event!

Resources: How to Get Involved

We know many of you are very interested in working to ensure Bryant and all schools around our state continue to exist and have the resources needed to ensure our children receive excellent public-school education. To that end, the Bryant PTSA will be providing updates and information on ways to engage in the SPS well-resourced school plans, levies, and state efforts to increase K-12 education funding. We hope you find this information helpful!

SCHOOL CLOSURES:

Recent information:

School closures: On October 24th, Superintendent Jones announced that his preliminary recommendation to the SPS board will be to consolidate the below schools:

  • Northwest Region: Closing – North Beach Elementary Consolidating with Viewlands Elementary at Viewlands
  • Northeast Region: Closing – Sacajawea Elementary Consolidating with John Rogers Elementary at John Rogers
  • Central Region: Closing – Stevens Elementary Consolidating with Montlake Elementary at Montlake
  • Southwest Region: Closing – Sanislo Elementary Consolidating with Highland Park Elementary at Highland Park

A district-wide information session will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. For more information on the Superintendent’s proposal please go here.

How you can help:

We know that many SPS parents, including those at Bryant, continue to fight school closures. Please find below a few resources that may help you engage in these efforts:

  • E-mailing elected representatives is always a good idea. Continue sending messages to Superintendent Jones, and the SPS board.
  • Use Let’s Talk.
  • If you want to attend rallies in opposition to school closures, and sign on to petitions/letters, etc., one resource is All Together for Seattle Schools, a parent advocacy group. If you are interested in receiving their newsletters, or are looking for communication materials, you can find a link to their website here.
    • If you oppose the Northeast school closure, one upcoming rally is on October 30, 2024 from 7:30-8:00am at Sacajawea Elementary.

SPS LEVIES

Seattle Public Schools relies on voter-approved levies to fill the gap between what it receives from state and federal sources and what is needed to fully support students, staff, and schools.

There are currently recommendations for the renewal of the Educational Programs & Operations (EP&O) Levy and Building Excellence (BEX VI) Capital Levy, which are expected to go before voters on Feb. 11, 2025.

On November 19, 2024 the Board will be voting on resolutions to place levies on the February 2025 ballot. During the next few months SPS will be holding information sessions on the levies, the first one will take place online on November 7, from 6:30-7:30pm. Go here for more information about the levies and upcoming information sessions.

STATE FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS

Recent information:

Closing five or even twenty-one schools does not adequately address SPS’ almost $100M shortfall. According to the WA. Superintendent of Public Instruction:

  • Washington currently underfunds K-12 education by around $4 billion per year.
  • The share of the budget dedicated to K-12 education in WA. has shrunk from 50% in 2019, to only 43% today.
  • While the national average for education investment is 3.6% of the GDP, WA only invests 3.1% of the GDP.
  • WA. is behind high performing states in per-pupil spending. For example, WA. spends $17,000, while Mass. Spends $21,000. 

    SPS, PTSAs and parent advocacy groups are all advocating for increased state funding for K-12 education.

How you can help:

  • E-mail Governor Inslee’s office to ask him to increase K-12 education funding in the governor’s proposed 2025-2027 biennium operating budget by including Superintendent Reykdal’s budget requests. One way to do that is through the fundsps link here.
    • There is a limited window to do this as the Governor’s proposed budget comes out before legislative session.
  • Reach out to your lawmakers and ask them to invest in our children’s education. One way to do that is through fundsps.com links – found here.
    • Remember: Sending a template is great, but adding in personal information is even better.
    • Remember: Try to stay focused on one issue – increased funding, do not address multiple issues in one e-mail.
  • Ask a lawmaker for a meeting or organize a lawmaker meeting with a group of Bryant parents.
  • Inform people about the impact of I-2109 and I-2117 on education. The WA. State PTA Board of Directors voted at its June meeting to oppose these initiatives. For more information go here.
  • Sign up for Washington PTA’s action alerts here to stay appraised of what is happening during session.
  • Subscribe to the Seattle Council PTSA newsletter here for advocacy updates.
  • Join the Bryant advocacy group by e-mailing: ptsaexec@bryantschool.org.

A Message Regarding Proposed School Closures

Dear Bryant Community,

By now, you have likely seen Seattle Public Schools’ two proposals for the future of our elementary schools. While Bryant will remain open, both proposals would result  in significant changes to our current boundary — resulting in the loss of nearly one-third of currently enrolled families.  We are devastated by these proposals and are determined to fight to keep our community together.

The Bryant PTSA is here to support the community — and it will take all of us to prevent this change. At Thursday’s PTSA meeting, we established a new Advocacy team which will help spearhead and organize our efforts at the local and district level.

There will be more updates and information to come, but in the meantime, we wanted to share some ways that you can advocate for our school right now.

1. Use the Let’s Talk Tool

We have been encouraged to use the Let’s Talk Tool on the district’s Well-Resourced Schools Online Hub. This tool is being tracked and responses are being collected by the district, making it one of the best ways we can begin our push-back today.

Here’s how you can use the tool:

  • Go to: https://www.k12insight.com/Lets-Talk/embed.aspx?L=PZ5K78N4B9LT
  • Click the “Boundaries and Student Assignments (WRS)” button
  • Make sure the subject line starts with “Bryant”
  • In your response, please be specific about how these proposed boundary changes will impact you, your student(s), and the Bryant community.

We have a window of opportunity now to generate as many responses as we can and show the district that Bryant is united against these boundary changes. Please submit your response as soon as you can and share this channel with other families, friends, and community members.

2. Contact District Officials and School Board Members.  Send feedback to:

3. Get Involved

Please consider lending your time and your talents to our Advocacy team. The louder we are, the more chance  we stand of convincing the district to reverse course. If you’re interested in learning more or want to discuss how you can help, email us at ptsaexec@bryantschool.org.  We stand together with you and will do everything we can to keep our amazing community together. Please share this information with anyone who may not be on the Weekly email distribution list and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Matt Hunt and Marika VanderSmith
Bryant PTSA Co-Presidents