WA education office cites state budget cuts as it lays off 37

SEATTLE – Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is laying off 37 people at the start of July, part of a broader wave of state layoffs that could affect 1,000 jobs across state government.

Altogether, 57 jobs were eliminated at the department, which oversees K-12 education. Twenty are vacancies and retirements, said Katie Hannig, a spokesperson for the agency.

“Decisions leaned as heavily as they could on position vacancies, one-time costs, and retirements, but large layoffs could not be avoided,” Hannig wrote in a recent email.

Hannig said the agency was reducing its workforce due to the budget passed by the state Legislature this April. Lawmakers made cuts and raised taxes to fill a multibillion-dollar shortfall.

OSPI’s funding was cut by 6% over the next two years, Hannig said.

On top of that, the Legislature consolidated and cut some programs supporting school districts and cut many grants, Hannig said. Data provided by OSPI shows that the roughly $135 million in grant cuts over the next two years will affect a wide variety of programming, including civics education, scholarships and intensive tutoring.

OSPI’s layoffs come as the Trump administration looks to shrink the size of the federal government and as the cancellation of federal grants ripples through the education world.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the education secretary to work toward eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, and the administration has sought to slash the department’s workforce. Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift an injunction stopping the cuts.

OSPI, led by Superintendent Chris Reykdal, has more than 400 employees, according to its website. It allocates funding and supports the state’s 295 public school districts and six state-tribal education compact schools with resources and technical help.

“The work of our OSPI team is incredibly meaningful to school districts, educators and students, and this reduction is about legislative budget cuts – not employee performance,” Hannig said. “OSPI appreciates all of our departing employees, and the agency thanks them for their work.”

According to information provided by OSPI, the 57-job reduction includes two positions in the fiscal office, one in the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning, five in special education, three in the Office of Native Education, eight in the Office of System and School Improvement, four in educator growth and development, 14 in secondary education and pathway preparation, nine in elementary, early learning and federal programs, one in information technology, two in the legal office and eight in student engagement and support.

Students “badly need the tools, resources and technical assistance” that employees at the agency provide, said Patrick Sugrue, a spokesperson for the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents employees at OSPI.

“These jobs are going away because our elected officials have not summoned the courage to demand that the super-rich start contributing their fair share,” he said in a statement. “Our members fought for and won new revenue that saved countless jobs, but legislators didn’t go far enough.”

This session, the Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, passed measures slated to bring in $9 billion in new revenue over the next four years, over the objections of the Republican minority. Legislators floated, but didn’t end up passing, a wealth tax and a payroll tax on high earners, and legislators made cuts to balance the budget.

This story first appeared in the Seattle Times.