Olympia School Board hears legislative preview as lawmakers warn of large state deficit and possible cuts

The Olympia School District Board of Directors received a legislative preview Thursday night as Director Darcy Huffman outlined the district’s advocacy priorities for the 2025 Washington legislative session and state lawmakers described the budget pressures they will face.

Huffman told the board the district will distinguish advocacy from lobbying and will provide information and tools for families and staff through the district’s Legislative Action Network, but will not direct constituents to send scripted messages asking legislators to vote for or against specific bills. "Lobbying... is asking your legislator to vote for or against or to amend or introduce particular legislation, which we do not do," Huffman said.

The briefing centered on the district’s three funding priorities—maintenance, supplies and operating costs (MSOC), special education funding (including multipliers and a cap Huffman said must be lifted), and transportation—along with the realities of a large state budget shortfall. Huffman and board members repeatedly urged constituents to tell personal stories to legislators and to use the district’s online resources to follow bills.

Representative DeFolio (Representative Dolio in the transcript) and Representative-elect Parsley joined the meeting to describe how the House and Appropriations processes work and the practical implications for Olympia. DeFolio said she had been appointed to the House Appropriations Committee and that she would focus on serving students who have been underserved, including students with disabilities and homeless students. "I will definitely be sitting on appropriations looking for places that we can cut," DeFolio said, adding that any revenue proposals (including progressive tax increases) could face legal challenges and would not immediately fill the gap.

Both lawmakers and Huffman told the board the 2025 session will be dominated by budget work. Huffman said advocates have identified the “big three” items—MSOC, special education and transportation—and urged sustained advocacy. She told the board the governor-elect’s budget had been released that morning with some differences from Governor Inslee’s plan and that the state faces a shortfall that "gets anywhere between 10,000,000,000 and 15, [billion], depends on the day," according to her remarks.

Board members pressed for specifics. Director Darcy Flores listed several bills she and staff are tracking, including proposals to increase allocations for certificated and classified staff (House Bill 1120 referenced in board discussion), a bill to expand the Learning Assistance Program (Senate Bill 5120), and bills to create or strengthen student mental and behavioral health networks and to put MSOC on a more sustainable indexing basis. Huffman and DeFolio said many details remain fluid—committee assignments and revenue packages are not final—and the board should expect weekly updates once session is under way.

Board directors and the representatives discussed strategies districts can use if the state requires cuts. DeFolio and Parsley said agencies and districts commonly respond to shortfalls by delaying hires, pausing program starts or reducing non‑mandated expenditures, while trying to protect constitutionally mandated education spending. Parsley, newly on the Finance Committee, said some budget choices would create winners and losers and emphasized an equity lens: changes should protect students with the greatest needs.

Huffman described the district’s plan for public engagement: a Legislative Action Network that will provide information and training, periodic short updates during session and public-facing resources (web pages and bill trackers) to help families and staff follow key bills and committee actions. She also cautioned board members against sending constituents scripted messages that would constitute lobbying.

Votes at a glance The board considered routine procedural items during the meeting that were adopted by voice vote: adoption of the agenda for the meeting, approval of the minutes from the December meeting, and approval of the consent agenda. The transcript records each motion as moved and seconded and that the body voted in favor; individual names and numeric vote tallies were not specified in the record.

Why this matters: Olympia School District officials and their legislative partners said the 2025 session will require sustained advocacy and that the board and community should expect proposals to change how state dollars are allocated. Board members identified paraeducator pay, regionalization of salary allocations, and lifting the special education cap as local priorities that will affect district budgets and services.

Looking ahead: Huffman said the district will host regular Legislative Action Network updates during session, moving from every other week early in session to weekly briefings in March. Board members and the public were urged to use the district’s legislative web pages and WASDA/WASA trackers to follow bills as committee assignments and the state revenue picture evolve.