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Across Washington State, public school districts are facing worsening budget crises. After more than 10 years of advocacy by Washington's Paramount Duty and our allies, the legislature is finally poised to tax the rich -- but their proposal inexplicably leaves out public education.

Instead, we believe at least 50% of the revenue from a millionaires tax should go to the public schools.

School districts across the state have already cut programs, laid off teachers, packed students into classrooms with more than 40 students to a teacher, and even closed schools. Several districts are under fiscal monitoring by the state and many more will follow -- unless state legislators pass and Governor Bob Ferguson act to amply fund our schools as the state constitution requires.

Gov. Ferguson and Democratic state legislators have now proposed a "millionaires' tax" -- an income tax targeted toward the rich. This has been in WPD's legislative agenda since we were founded in 2015. When Gov. Ferguson announced the plan in December, he said some of the revenue would go to public education.

But the legislature's version doesn't do that. Instead, it dumps 95% of the revenue into the general fund, with no guarantee that any of it will go to the public schools. Legislators have consistently shown they don't want to fund our schools. Unless revenue is specifically dedicated to the schools, there's no reason to believe any of it will benefit public education.

If we don't speak out now, our state's leaders may decide to abandon our schools completely.

This is a make-or-break moment for our public schools.

Will you take a moment and write to Governor Ferguson and our state legislators and urge them to step up and dedicate at least 50% of the revenue from a millionaires tax to our public schools?