Philanthropy grant to add 10,000 preschool slots in WA to backfill budget cuts

Take a deep breath. Count to five. Now you feel all calm inside.

Bronti Lemke’s son is a bit older now. But when he’s feeling frustrated, he still sings the lines learned from his time in Washington’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), which offers preschool for eligible low-income kids ages 3 and 4, the Tacoma mother explained earlier this year outside the state Capitol building.

Those lyrics made a lasting impression on her young child.

“He’s 6 now, so they’re very impactful on him. He’s very kind, my son,” Lemke said at the time, pride shining in her eyes.

She added: “And you can see the difference in — not to say it’s a bad thing or anything — but kids that did not have the program, in the kindergarten. You can see the struggles and the differences that it makes, even for kindergarten teachers.”

Like Lemke, many Washington parents say the social and emotional learning gleaned from ECEAP has been crucial for their child’s development. But in the 2025 session, the state Legislature, facing a deep budget deficit, made cuts leading to fewer ECEAP slots statewide.

About $60 million was reportedly drained from ECEAP, with roughly 2,000 fewer spots compared with the previous year. The early ECEAP program that serves kids from birth to age 3 was defunded. ECEAP entitlement for all qualifying low-income families was again delayed, getting punted from the 2026-27 school year to the 2030-31 school year.

Then, some hope for ECEAP families. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Gov. Bob Ferguson made an announcement: A philanthropy group has stepped in to help make up for some of those losses.

The Ballmer Group, founded by Microsoft’s former CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife, revealed a new grant to expand ECEAP in Washington. The group vowed to fund up to 10,000 additional slots for the next decade, likely amounting to more than $1 billion in early-learning support.

Ferguson noted that Head Start, a program serving more than 700,000 low-income kids nationwide, has also been in a tenuous position. The administration of President Donald Trump has withheld federal funding and threatened to nix the program altogether.

With the Ballmer grant, Washington aims to enroll 2,000 additional ECEAP kids next school year.

“It’d be hard to quantify how significant that investment will be for our state,” Ferguson said at a Wednesday news conference in Seattle. ECEAP helping parents go to school

Bronti Lemke’s ECEAP story began with her addiction. She was heavily involved in illicit substances for years and spent time in jail, she said.

When she got pregnant, she didn’t know where to turn next. Her counselor recommended that she go back to school. Over time, Lemke was able to obtain her high-school diploma and start college courses — something she could do thanks to ECEAP.

“Now my son is a graduate of ECEAP and going to kindergarten, and I am graduating college,” she said in March.

Crystal Isabell’s story is similar.

At 43, Isabell had her daughter, who didn’t want to wean. She said in March that she was stuck at home because her baby wouldn’t take a bottle, meaning she couldn’t return to work.

Although she’d previously been a licensed pharmacy technician, Isabell also knew she couldn’t return to that job because of her addiction. When a spot opened at the Early Learning Center at Tacoma Community College, it paved the way for Isabell to chart a new path forward. She wants to reach families facing similar struggles, including disparities and depression.

Isabell can empathize with those whom she aspires to help: “I definitely know what it’s like to go through addiction, try to be a parent, but know that you’re not doing it right.”

“And not having resources, it’s like, you just stay stuck in that cycle. But because of ECEAP and going to school — sorry,” she said, tearing up. “Going to school, it’s literally changed my life.”

Some 1 in 5 toddlers and babies in ECEAP have parents without high-school diplomas, and a notable number are incarcerated, The Seattle Times’ editorial board has noted. Because of that, such kids are at higher risk to be placed in the foster-care system, which can be even costlier and with worse results.

Still, due to budget-shortfall fallout, all but 16 of 62 ECEAP contractors in Washington witnessed declines this year in their funded seats for eligible kids, according to The Times. And some providers have reported that the state’s per-slot rate doesn’t cover all the program’s wraparound services.

State Sen. Claire Wilson, an Auburn Democrat, has long championed early learning. She was the prime sponsor for the Fair Start for Kids Act, a 2021 law that invested $1.1 billion to make early learning and child care more affordable.

In a call this summer, Wilson underscored that lawmakers had a challenging 2025 session as they worked to solve budget problems. Senate Bill 5752, which modified the Fair Start for Kids Act and made ECEAP adjustments and delays, was “probably one of the hardest bills that I’d ever had to talk about on the Senate floor.”

Fast forward to Nov. 12: Ferguson announced that Wilson would be the Senate sponsor of upcoming legislation to establish an account to accept the Ballmer Group’s ECEAP grant funds. Democratic state Rep. Steve Bergquist of Renton will carry it in the House.

The governor’s office pointed out that to use the funding, Washington can’t slash the number of state-funded ECEAP slots.

Wilson said at Wednesday’s news conference that her goal has been to restore cuts made last session, and to strengthen programs for the future. She said the effects of the ECEAP investment “cannot at all be understated.”

“When we invest in early care and education,” Wilson said with a grin, “we are investing in the future of our state.” ‘Victims’ of WA’s budget deficit

Katy Warren, deputy director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, spoke at a mid-October House Early Learning & Human Services Committee work session. She noted that ECEAP provides both short- and long-term benefits of early intervention and reduction in poverty as adults. It’s also completely integrated into the state’s economy.

The aim of ECEAP: moving families out of poverty and instilling stability, she said.

Warren’s organization has heard from programs that are seeing families and kids with more challenging behaviors and greater needs. That has meant the need for reduced classroom ratios and additional teacher training and behavioral supports — a pricey prospect.

She said that in the last budget, ECEAP took on the bulk of state cuts within the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

“It’s been a little bit brutal, and we’re really trying to reset and figure out, you know: What next?” she said.

Joel Ryan, executive director at WSA Head Start and ECEAP, said in a Friday call that there’s still a ton of strong bipartisan support for early learning.

Head Start, he said, has been on fragile ground. That, coupled with any potential additional early-learning cuts, including ECEAP, amounts to taking several steps backward, which is “unfortunate.”

Studies show that with every $1 put into early learning, the taxpayer gets back $7 as kids are more prepared for school and less likely to get involved in the criminal justice system, he said.

Looking ahead, Ryan hopes the state will tap into new revenue options. The state still isn’t asking top earners to pay their fair share, he said.

“But the victims of the deficit are these kids that are very low income, experiencing homelessness and are living in deep poverty,” he said. “And I don’t think they should be the ones held responsible for an upside-down budget and tax system in our state.”