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Ellensburg superintendent warns state cuts will hit transitional kindergarten funding hardest
Summary
Superintendent Troy Turnell told the board that recent legislative actions roll back several education funding boosts and that transition-to-kindergarten funding to OSPI was reduced by about 27%, leaving the district to plan how to absorb impacts while preserving existing programs.
Troy Turnell, superintendent of the Ellensburg School District, told the board the 2026 legislative session trimmed several expected education funding increases and that districts are now assessing the local effect.
"In the short term, we're really going to be only impacted by the transition to kindergarten cuts," Turnell said, reporting that the state told districts the funding to OSPI for that program was cut by roughly 27 percent. He said OSPI will decide distribution and the district expects to absorb some reductions through planned staffing changes, including a retirement in the transition-to-kindergarten program that the district does not intend to fill.
Turnell also outlined other rollbacks: the legislature pulled back on levy-equalization increases set in prior law that would have helped property-poor districts; funding that briefly allowed Running Start students to take two classes was restored to one class; and the state lengthened the bus depreciation schedule, delaying replacement funding.
"They are touting that they increased spending on education, which is technically true, but all of those increases are in required cost-of-living type adjustments," Turnell said, adding that the net effect is little new money for new programs. He noted the district's fiscal planning remains sensitive to whether a proposed state income tax survives legal and initiative challenges, saying that major program restorations depend on that revenue.
Why it matters: The transition-to-kindergarten reduction could change how many slots a district funds and how positions are staffed. Turnell said the district is funded for 40 transitional-kindergarten slots but is serving 45 and has already planned one retirement as a means to contain the cut.
The board asked clarifying questions about possible classroom-size changes and how retained funds are restricted; Turnell said that transition-to-kindergarten allocations have statutory guardrails and that the district will monitor local impacts as OSPI issues more distribution details.
Next steps: Turnell said the district will continue to monitor OSPI's distribution guidance over the next weeks and will keep the board updated as allocations firm up.
