Legislative Advocacy Series: Telling Your District's Story - Advocating for Legislative Priorities-WASBO Member Advocacy Toolkit

WASBO Member Advocacy Toolkit

Pdf Summary

The WASBO Member Advocacy Toolkit outlines a September 2026–January 2027 outreach plan to strengthen school districts’ voices in Washington’s 2027 legislative session. It emphasizes connecting financial evidence with the impact on students and coordinating district leaders’ advocacy.<br /><br />WASBO’s shared priorities with WASA are to:<br />- Modernize substitute funding to cover required leave and reflect actual costs.<br />- Keep materials, supplies, and operating costs (MSOC) funding current and address rising insurance and liability expenses.<br />- Fund required special education services without relying on local enrichment funds.<br />- Protect and improve levy equalization so student opportunity depends less on local property wealth.<br /><br />Other WASBO priorities include early financial monitoring, three-year projections, regionalization improvements, and considering a simple-majority threshold for school construction bonds. The toolkit also notes growing attention to utility costs and public-sector liability, as well as the State Auditor’s new division focused on fraud and financial controls.<br /><br />For legislative meetings, school business officers should explain costs and funding gaps, superintendents should connect them to instruction and student opportunity, and board members should add governance and community context. Teams are encouraged to agree on one or two requests and prepare a concise packet with district context, cost gaps, financial projections, student impacts, and specific proposed action.<br /><br />The monthly plan is: build the evidence packet in September; meet legislators in October; host a school visit in November; update projections and requests in December; and respond to specific proposals during the January session. Meetings should be brief, begin by listening, and end with a clear request and follow-up.<br /><br />The closing message calls for basic education funding progress—or, at minimum, district stability: no K–12 cuts, no new unfunded mandates, and relief from existing burdensome requirements.

Keywords

WASBO

advocacy toolkit

Washington legislature

school funding

substitute funding

MSOC funding

special education funding

levy equalization

financial projections

student opportunity