Superintendent Reykdal unveils plan to more equitably distribute timber revenue for school construction

Chris Reykdal, Supt. of
Public Instruction

OLYMPIA—July 19, 2022—As revenues from harvesting timber on school trust lands continue to decline, it’s time to stop depending on these funds for the K–12 School Construction Assistance Program, State Superintendent Reykdal said in a recent media briefing.

Reykdal laid out his plan for re-allocating funding from the K–12 Common School Trust, which currently provides a small percentage of the funding for school construction across Washington.

In his plan, a portion of revenues from timber harvested in the rural communities - which currently are primarily provided to school districts in urban communities - would be retained within the communities that generate the dollars. In addition, Reykdal proposes the state reallocate a portion of the funds to support forest health and preservation.

His proposal calls on the state Legislature to completely fund the School Construction Assistance Program from revenue sources other than trust land revenue and instead, dedicate those dollars to projects in rural Washington.

“Rural communities in Washington have long generated this revenue through timber harvests and other trust land activities, but are not often the beneficiaries of it,” Reykdal said. “We should be investing this revenue within the communities where it’s generated and using a portion of the dollars to support forest health and preservation.”

Reykdal will propose the change during the upcoming legislative session as part of his 2023–25 Capital Budget request.

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