WA’s top education official comes out in support of new ‘millionaires tax’
Washington state lawmakers in the 2026 session are considering a bevy of revenue ideas, including a controversial income tax on millionaires.
Now the state’s top education official is entering the chat.
On Feb. 5, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said lawmakers should pass what Democrats have called the “millionaires tax.”
“I want to say unequivocally, if not a single amendment happened to that bill, the Legislature should pass that,” Reykdal said at the Feb. 5 news conference.
This comes as both the state and many Washington school districts have dealt with persistent budget shortfalls.
Reykdal argued that a “missing part of the conversation” revolves around affordability for middle-class families struggling to make ends meet.
Although Reykdal, a former Democratic state lawmaker, said it isn’t his job to be in negotiations, he urged the following considerations:
- Slashing state property taxes by $1.4 billion a year
- Completely funding and broadening K-12 education by $861 million annually
- Covering all instructional fees for dual credit: $57 million a year
- Offering two years of college tuition at $760 million annually
Some Washington state school districts have been struggling with their pocketbooks in recent months.
Tumwater School District sought layoffs after dealing with budget issues, while Tacoma Public Schools displaced staff and cut positions amid a $30 million deficit.
Reykdal told McClatchy last year that roughly a dozen of the state’s 295 districts are contending with significant financial risk. Many more are having to make tough decisions surrounding cuts.
He noted that many families are also feeling a financial pinch.
It costs more than $400,000 to raise a kid in Washington state, Reykdal said, which is higher than much of the rest of the country. He cited expenses such as diapers, food, housing, energy, clothing and education.
Another proposal from Reykdal: providing all Washington students with free school meals — an idea that’s so far failed to pass out of the Legislature.
The state Supreme Court decided in 2012 in the McCleary v. Washington case that the state wasn’t living up to its constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. That prompted legislative reforms and increased per-student funding. The high court determined in 2018 that the state had achieved compliance.
Reykdal said Thursday that K-12 funding has since started to diminish as a share of the state budget. While education composed more than 50% of state general funds in 2019, it has returned to the low 40s, McClatchy previously reported.
Reykdal’s announcement drew criticism from state Rep. Jim Walsh, an Aberdeen Republican who also chairs the state’s GOP.
Walsh argued that Reykdal has been in charge during the “collapse” of the state’s education system, referencing a decline in certain national rankings, and that the superintendent is unqualified to weigh in on tax policy.
The Republican also contends that the proposed tax from Gov. Bob Ferguson and state Democrats is unconstitutional because it would only hit residents with certain incomes.
“It’s cynical and it’s terrible,” Walsh said. “If they want to have their state income tax, it needs to apply in a uniform way to all families, not just some families.”
In Reykdal’s view, Washington has work to do in its college-completion rates, something he said his proposal seeks to rectify.
If the income tax were to generate roughly $3.5 billion of revenue annually, and most of it was focused on families and opportunities for young people, then “we would revolutionize education in the state, particularly higher-ed access,” he said.
Reykdal said his pitch wouldn’t eat up the entire revenue generated from the proposed tax. Rather, it would leave some $350 million for the state’s general fund. He also said it would free up nearly $200 million in the Washington College Grant by covering the last two years of college. Combined, the Legislature would have more than half a billion dollars for consideration, he said.
“The whole approach is generally — between tax relief, K-12 and higher ed — focus on working- and middle-class families and give them the desperate relief that they need,” Reykdal said.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 10:45 AM.
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