EVERETT — Budget proposals passed by the state House and Senate in March could cut millions of dollars from programs related to education that assist students and educators in Snohomish County.
The funding, in the form of grants, is allocated via the state Legislature and managed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The state House version of the 2025-27 biennial budget would cut nearly all of the grants immediately, saving $138 million over two years, according to the state superintendent’s office. The Senate version of the budget would continue to fund the programs through July 2026 but end them after, saving $48.8 million.
Representatives from the Senate and House will meet in a conference committee to reconcile the differences in the budgets proposed by the two chambers.
The cuts would come at a time the state is facing a budget shortfall estimated at $15 billion over the next four years.
The grants pay for programs related to career-technical education, dual language education, support for homeless students and those in the foster care system, among a number of other programs, a state superintendent’s office document read.
One program that could be hit by the state cuts to grants is Treehouse, a Seattle-based nonprofit which provides support to students in foster care.
Statistically, students in foster care are much less likely to graduate high school on time. In 2023, 53% of youth in foster care graduated on time, compared to 84% of all students statewide, state data shows.
Treehouse, through a program known as Graduation Success, attempts to bridge that gap. Specialists meet with young people in foster care to set goals, do interventions to address issues, and monitor attendance and course performance. The nonprofit also helps pay for those students to take part in sports and extracurricular activities.
The nonprofit supports over 100 young people in foster care who live in Snohomish County, said the nonprofit’s CEO, Dawn Rains. It serves nearly 1,000 students statewide.
It receives about $7 million per year through OSPI grants for its Graduation Success program. That represents about 65% of the program’s funding. If that funding is lost, the nonprofit will have to cut back its work.
“These funds have been incorporated into the state’s base budget for a number of years. They’ve been considered critical investments in the educational outcomes of these very vulnerable, marginalized students,” Rains said. “… We have concerns that many of the things that are being proposed for cuts are the things that serve and support our most vulnerable and marginalized students.”
Another program potentially on the chopping block if funding is cut is Ninth Grade Success, which works with administrators and teachers at schools to keep ninth graders on track to graduate.
Ninth grade is known as “the make or break year,” said Doug Judge, a Ninth Grade Success coach who works at high schools in Snohomish County. Success in ninth grade is a strong predictor of graduating high school on time, Judge said, so the program works to intervene early to make sure students remain on track.
“Across the board, students are saying they’re overwhelmed,” Judge said. “Like any of us, you know, if we feel like it’s impossible to do something, we won’t do it. If it feels like it’s possible, we do it.”
The Center for High School Success, which helps administer the Ninth Grade Success program, uses data analysis to inform school staff of problem areas, then performs training with administrators and teachers to improve student performance.
At schools where the program has been implemented in Snohomish County, it has increased the number of students on track to graduate. Students at Everett High School, for example, went from 64% on track to graduate in January 2024 to 74% in January 2025.
The program is fully funded by a $3 million OSPI grant the House and Senate budget bills proposed cutting. It serves seven high schools in Snohomish county.
Because Ninth Grade Success is based on staff coaching and making changes at the school level, some schools that have had assistance from the program for longer will be in better shape if its funding is cut. But others, that have only had the program for a year or less or haven’t had the program as an option, would see more difficulties.
“I think the ability of a school to sustain these practices is proportionate to how long they’ve had to really sit with these practices and integrate them into the culture,” said Liz Trautman, Executive Director of Stand for Children Washington, which helps administer the Ninth Grade Success program. “ … I think about not just about the current network of schools and what happens to them if this funding were to go away, but the scores of other schools that have not yet had an opportunity to engage with this work.”
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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