Washingtonians disapprove of the cuts to education that the Legislature made in the 2026 session, Civic Heartbeat poll f
finds
The recent decision by the Washington State Legislature and Governor Bob Ferguson to close a revenue shortfall by making substantial cuts to education in the 2026 supplemental operating budget is getting a big thumbs down from voters, the Northwest Progressive Institutes latest statewide Civic Heartbeat survey finds.
55% of likely 2026 general election voters recently surveyed by Emerson College Polling for NPI said they disapproved of the decision by the Legislature and Governor Ferguson to reduce funding for priorities like Transition to Kindergarten, Running Start, and K‑12 public school transportation in the budget, rather than raising taxes on large corporations to avert the cuts, while only 29% approved. Another 16% were not sure.
Transition to Kindergartens funding was cut by tens of millions, prompting a very frustrated Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal to declare:
In my thirty years in education, I have never seen a more ill-advised and damaging cut to education funding
Despite how clear the data is, the Governor and legislative majorities still carried out this harm. School district leaders are struggling to understand why a successful, evidence-informed, program was targeted by the Democratic majorities. I have never seen this level of frustration from local school leaders, and its understandable.
https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2026/06/washingtonians-disapprove-of-the-cuts-to-education-that-the-legislature-made-in-the-2026-session-civic-heartbeat-poll-finds.html