Education Is More Than a Line Item. It’s Our Responsibility to Every Child.

Education may be the paramount duty of the state, but that does not just mean education. It means providing for the well-being of all our children. As a father, I know that also means recognizing that the needs of students today are more complex than ever, and that the success of our public schools is inseparable from the strength of our communities, our economy, and our future.

I have spent the last decade on the Walla Walla School Board, and I have seen this reality up close. We have worked hard to build a school district that families can be proud of. Graduation rates are up. Curriculum is modernized. Mental-health supports are stronger. Student opportunities have expanded, from early learning to career and technical education. And through careful planning and steady leadership, we have balanced the budget every single year, even as many districts across Washington have been forced into painful cuts.

But one of the biggest lessons from this work is that funding debates alone do not solve the challenges facing our students. For years, conversations in Olympia have focused almost entirely on formulas, rates, and revenue streams. Those things matter. But if our goal is to prepare every child for a successful future, we must talk about early-grade literacy, classroom behavior, mental-health supports, and the tools teachers need to help students thrive. We cannot simply drip more money into an outdated system and expect different results.

Washington needs a statewide vision for education that centers student well-being and academic success, not just line-item adjustments. It needs a clear commitment to giving teachers the training, curriculum, and support structures they need. It needs policymakers who understand that schools are being asked to solve challenges far beyond the classroom without the community-wide resources required to do it alone.

We also need to protect public education from misguided shortcuts. Vouchers do not improve student outcomes and are being used nationally to hollow out public schools. Charter schools can work in some places, but in Washington the oversight system is broken and too often disconnected from student needs. Families deserve accountability, transparency, and a public system strong enough to serve every child, not just the ones who can navigate alternatives.

All of this ties back to a broader truth: students cannot succeed in classrooms if the world around them is falling apart. When families are struggling with housing, healthcare, or rising costs, those pressures show up in our schools. When policymakers treat education as a silo instead of part of a larger support system, students pay the price.

For me, education is not an abstract policy area. It is the work I have been doing for ten years. It is the responsibility I feel as a school board member, as a community leader, and as a father with two daughters in our public schools. And it is one of the main reasons I am running.

Our state needs a renewed commitment to students, grounded in real experience and honest leadership. We need to shift the conversation from short-term fixes to long-term success. We need to build better schools and a more affordable future, because the two are inseparable.

And above all, we need to remember that our responsibility is not simply to educate children, but to give them every chance to thrive.