Students, Families, Educators and our community:
We encourage you to attend the Regional Town Hall on Education Funding. We need our community to show up to push legislators for a fully-funded education system. The state of Washington continues to fall short of its paramount, constitutional duty to fully fund basic K-12 education and our schools are facing a serious budget crisis.
Join a unified voice of PTAs, school district leaders, and educators from ten school districts including Bellevue, Issaquah, Lake Washington, Mercer Island, Northshore, Renton, Riverview, Shoreline, Snoqualmie Valley and Tukwila.
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026
7:00-9:00 pm
📍 Newport High School Gymnasium (Bellevue School District)
4333 Factoria Blvd SE, Bellevue, WA 98006
Chris Reykdal, the WA State Superintendent of Public Instruction, along with WA State legislators will join as we educate our communities about the state's education funding model vs. actual costs and the impacts of inflation combined with underfunding in three main categories including Special Education, MSOC (materials, supplies and operating costs), and transportation. WA State K-12 funding and policy expert, Dan Steele, will providing context on how K–12 education is funded in Washington and why funding gaps persist. Please see the full agenda below.
This is our opportunity to show lawmakers that investing in students is investing in Washington’s future. While progress was made last year, the pace and scale of change must accelerate — students can’t afford to wait. Your voice is essential as we seize this historic opportunity to transform education in Washington state. We need YOU and we need your VOICE!
📝 Pre-submit your questions to Legislators
📣 Volunteer Sign-up link **parking volunteers needed (please arrive at 6 PM)
Accessibility:
Translations: ILA machine translation services are available upon request. Please bring your headphones.
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided at this event.
For questions please email: advocacy@bellevueptsacouncil.com
Legislators Attending:
Rep. Shelley Kloba (D) - 1st District
Sen. Victoria Hunt (D) - 5th District
Rep. Lisa Callan (D) - 5th District
Sen. Jesse Salomon (D) - 32nd District
Rep. Lauren Davis (D) - 32nd District
Sen. Lisa Wellman (D) - 41st District
Rep. My-Linh Thai (D) - 41st District
Rep. Janice Zahn (D) - 41st District
Rep. Roger Goodman (D) - 45th District
Sen. Vandana Slatter (D) - 48th District
Rep. Osman Salahuddin (D) - 48th District
Additional Parking Information
Parking at the school will be limited, and we strongly encourage attendees to carpool when possible. Parking volunteers will be on site to help direct vehicles and keep traffic moving as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Please park on the East side of the building, accessed from Factoria Blvd SE, and enter through the main entrance doors on the East side.
If on-site parking fills up, overflow parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood and at Factoria Mall, located a few blocks north of the school.
Please allow a few extra minutes for parking and walking to the venue.
Doors open to the public at 6:15 PM.
