News
March 11, 2026 -- The Washington State Legislature delivered welcome news for The Evergreen State College: the proposed $2.7 million cut to Evergreen’s operating budget has been removed.
Instead, Evergreen will receive only a $175,000 administrative reduction, the same level applied to other regional public universities.
The decision reflects months of persistent advocacy from across the Evergreen community. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters worked together to demonstrate the value Evergreen brings to Washington students and communities.
Advocacy efforts included leadership from the Geoduck Student Union, the Evergreen Advocates network, faculty and public-sector unions, and Evergreen’s Board of Trustees, along with strong engagement from local legislators.
Together, these voices made a clear case: Evergreen is growing, innovating, and serving more students than ever—including working parents, mid-career professionals, and first-generation college students and many more.
While Evergreen still faces an operating budget deficit and internal decisions ahead, the Legislature’s action represents an important step toward protecting the college’s future.
Evergreen Community at TVW Gala
Evergreen supporters were also visible this session at the TVW Gala on February 19 in Olympia. Representing the college were Evergreen Trustee Karen Fraser, Evergreen Advocates leader Nina Carter, State Representative Sharon Tomiko‑Santos (Evergreen alum), Planned Giving Officer Tanya Mote, Evergreen President John Carmichael, Government Relations Director Sandy Kaiser, Geoduck Student Union Legislative Director Nate Tippman, The Cooper Point Journal Editor Teresa Eastlick, and Shelton Promise Manager Monear Fatemi.
Advocates are encouraged to take a moment to thank legislators for supporting Evergreen during difficult budget deliberations. A quick note of appreciation helps strengthen relationships and build momentum for the future. Evergreen Advocates will re-connect to advocate in 2027!
There are just 31 days left in the 2026 legislative session and today is a pivotal moment to influence how lawmakers fund Evergreen for the coming year.
Why Your Voice Matters This Week
Washington faces a projected state budget gap of roughly $500 million, and legislators must close it with a mix of spending cuts, modest tax increases, and fee changes. Budget writers in the House and Senate are starting work this week on their plans, deciding where to cut and where to protect investments like public higher education. A critical state revenue forecast arrives on February 20, following a downward revision last November, and it will shape all budget decision lawmakers make this session.
That means now—not next month—is the time for Evergreen Advocates to stand up for Evergreen’s budget.
What We’re Asking Legislators To Do
Evergreen has turned a period of challenge into real momentum, with greater than 20% student enrollment growth from 2021 to fall 2025, signaling strong demand for an Evergreen education. That growth helped convince the Governor to remove a proposed $2.7 million cut to Evergreen in his budget, recognizing our progress even as all public colleges and universities could still face reductions.
We are growing because:
- First-time, first-year student retention has risen to 85% in 2024.
- Evergreen has expanded professional and certification pathways.
- A new Early Childhood Education program in English and Spanish is preparing more educators to serve Washington communities.
In short, Evergreen is delivering on access, persistence, and completion—the very outcomes legislators say they want from higher education investments.
Evergreen Advocates In Action
Evergreen is already well represented in Olympia, and Evergreen Advocates engagement strengthens that presence. Evergreen alumni, students, faculty, and staff are organizing to show legislators what Evergreen means in their districts and across the state.
Recent highlights:
- On January 20, Evergreen Advocates gathered at the State Capitol to meet with 17 legislators and host a well-attended reception showcasing Evergreen’s impact.
- On January 29, under the banner of the Geoduck Student Union, 18 Greener students fanned out across the Capitol campus to talk with lawmakers and staff about how Evergreen is helping them reach their higher education goals.
- United Faculty of Evergreen leaders are in regular contact with legislators to emphasize how faculty work, student support, and academic innovation depend on stable state funding.
These face-to-face conversations are building the foundation for stronger support in this year’s budget.
Spotlight: Shelton Promise and Community Impact
On February 2, Shelton Promise manager Monear Fatemi and student intern Alauna Carstens briefed senators on how Evergreen is carrying out this landmark place-based scholarship program. Their testimony, featured in a recent Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee work session, highlighted how Evergreen is partnering with Mason County to open doors to college for local students.
Committee Chair Senator T’wina Nobles praised Evergreen’s work to build community and support Shelton Promise students, underscoring that targeted investments in programs like these pay off for students, families, and regional economies. You can watch their presentation at 24 minutes and 50 seconds into this TVW recording of the hearing to see Evergreen’s impact in action.
Evergreen Advocates made a powerful showing at the State Capitol on Tuesday, January 20—and the impact was unmistakable. We wish all of you could have attended, but maybe next year?
This year, 23 dedicated Advocates came together to urge legislators to support the Governor’s proposed budget and eliminate the $2.7 million cut scheduled to take effect on July 1. In one day, our volunteers visited 17 legislators, carrying a clear and unified message: Evergreen matters, and any further cuts would be both harmful and unfair.
The 22nd Legislative District (Olympia area) brought the largest contingent, with more than 15 advocates in attendance. To ensure everyone could participate, we met with LD 22 legislators together in conference rooms—creating an impressive show of community support. In some meetings, legislators already had a strong understanding of Evergreen and the proposed cuts; in others, our advocates helped deepen awareness about the college’s mission, impact, and the inequities of last session’s budget decision. Across the board, we left feeling confident that our message was not only heard—but that it has legs.
A highlight of this year’s Lobby Day was a brand-new addition: a reception with legislators, advocates, students, and Evergreen leaders. The gathering was held at the “Castle,” a beautiful brick home near the Capitol—turrets and all.
The reception buzzed with energy and conversation. We were also honored to be joined by four legislators: Rep. Beth Doglio, Rep. Lisa Parshley, Rep. Gerry Pollet, and Rep. Dave Paul.
Attendees included many of our advocates such as Washington State Lieutenant Governor and Evergreen alum Denny Heck; Evergreen leadership—President John Carmichael and Vice President Dexter Gordon; three members of the Board of Trustees—Chair Miguel Perez-Gibson, Pam MacEwan, and Karen Fraser; seven members of the Evergreen Foundation Board of Governors; current and former faculty; and an enthusiastic group of students.
Together, we shared stories about Evergreen’s transformative role in students’ lives and recommitted ourselves to working with members of the Legislature to secure a budget that sustains a thriving, equitable learning environment at the college.
Lobby Day was a success because of the passion, commitment, and voices of our advocates. Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke up, and helped move this work forward.
Evergreen Advocates
January 5, 2026–Governor Ferguson released his 2026 supplemental operating budget on December 23, with cuts across the board to state agencies, institutions and higher education. However, embedded in his proposal is some better news for Evergreen.
The governor’s proposal adds more cuts to higher education institutions. The additional cuts to Evergreen total $915,000, with the largest portion being a 1.5% cut to the general fund appropriation.
Based on the legislative budget passed last year, we had been expecting our share of the sector-wide cut to be $652,000. These two cuts combined add up to a cut of $1,567,000. Western, Central and Eastern Washington universities receive similar cuts in the governor’s proposal, with larger 3% cuts at the University of Washington and Washington State University.
For Evergreen, these sector-wide cuts are partly offset by some better news. The governor’s proposal cancels fiscal year 2027’s $2.7 million Evergreen-specific cut that passed in the last legislative session. In addition, the governor proposes $100,000 in new funding to support the maintenance and operation of the Historic Lord Mansion.
Governor’s staff credited Evergreen’s “powerful advocacy” with making the case for the $2.7 budget reversion.
When the legislature convenes on January 12, the House and Senate consider the governor’s proposal as a starting budget document. If the governor’s proposal is adopted, Evergreen will still have a serious budget reduction to make. However, the governor’s proposal is a substantive improvement over the budget adopted in the last session.
Governor Ferguson estimates a $2.3 billion gap between the state’s revenue and spending through mid-2027. In this austere budget environment, it is remarkable to see Evergreen’s two operating budget requests incorporated into the governor’s proposal. This is a good start to the 2026 legislative session which recognizes our enrollment growth over the past few years.
We can expect to see House and Senate budget proposals in mid-February. The legislative session is scheduled to conclude on March 12.
Source: Evergreen at the Legislature
Holiday Gift!
On December 23, Governor Ferguson released his 2026 supplemental operating budget with cuts across the board to state agencies, institutions and higher education. However, embedded in his proposal is a spark of hope for Evergreen.
The Governor and his staff were impressed with our early “powerful advocacy” even before the 2026 legislative session started. But even more impressive has been the 4% enrollment growth each year for the past four years. In fact, the 2025 Fall quarter saw a 6.5% growth in enrollment. The Governor was pleased to see the per student costs dropping because our enrollment growth.
He decided Evergreen should NOT be penalize for per student costs and recommends to the 2026 Legislature to “revert” the unique $2.7 cut Evergreen is slated to take in July 2026. However, Ferguson’s budget still requires Evergreen, along with other regional four-year institutions, to take a modest $915,000 total cut. But, the Governor’s budget, does not penalize Evergreen with additional $2.7 million cut as was voted on last session.
Caution!
That said…we cannot relax our advocacy. The 2026 Legislature must now create and adopt their own budget by end of February. Ferguson’s budget puts Evergreen on a stronger footing, but the outcome is still uncertain as the Legislature grapples with a $2.3 billion budget shortfall. They could re-instate the unfair $2.7 million cut for Evergreen.
The legislative session starts January 12, and we’ll need to make the case with Senate and House budget and higher education leaders that our enrollment growth has reduced per student costs. We do not deserve another penalty cut on top of the across-the-board cuts.
Next Steps for Evergreen Advocates…
January 8 Thursday at 5pm on ZOOM
Join Evergreen President John Carmichael and other Evergreen Advocates to talk about 2026 legislative strategy and prognosis. If you’d like to join and we’ll send you the Zoom link. Contact us here: [email protected]
January 20 Tuesday Lobby Day in Olympia
Send in your RSVP very soon so we can reserve time with legislators (hopefully yours!)
RSVP LINK HERE: [email protected]
Winter Season. Shared Purpose. Collective Action.
As we move into the winter season, we’re also preparing for a critical moment: advocacy for Evergreen during the 2026 Legislative Session. Earlier this month, we kicked off our first training for new Evergreen Advocates—and we’re energized by the growing community ready to stand up for our college. 
How You Can Get Involved
Session Kickoff – January 8 | 5:00 PM (Zoom)
Join Evergreen leaders—President John Carmichael, Vice President Dexter Gordon, and Government Relations Director Sandy Kaiser—for an overview of the legislative challenges ahead and how advocates can help protect Evergreen.
Look for a Zoom link from [email protected]
Evergreen Advocates Lobby Day – January 20
Meet with legislators—either in person or virtually—to share why Evergreen matters. Direct conversations build understanding and lasting relationships. Registration details coming soon.
Learn the Issues
Review Evergreen’s Main Talking Points about our budget priorities and challenges for the 2026 session. See Talking Points, or download a printable PDF.
Share Your Story—Anytime
Reach out to your local legislators now. Personal experiences and connections are the most effective advocacy tools—you don’t have to wait for an alert. Easy route to sharing your story with your legislators (link),
This winter, your voice matters.
Join in. Speak up. Help shape Evergreen’s future.
With appreciation,
Nina Carter
Chair, Legislative Committee
The Evergreen State College Foundation
Join us in January in the galleries to see the action!
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On May 20, Governor Ferguson signed the State’s two-year operating budget for Washington. With a $16 billion shortfall, the legislature and the Governor made extremely difficult decisions about institutions and programs to keep or cut.
It was a nail-biter down to the last minute. The Evergreen State College’s budget had been on the chopping block since the legislators came to town in January.
Remember how Senator John Braun wanted to turn our Alma Mater into a medical-technical training school? SB 5424 Then came the House budget cut proposal to slash Evergreen’s budget by 28%. All in all, the four-year higher education system took a very large share of the required cuts in the State’s operating and capital budgets.
But thanks to YOU the final budget cut to Evergreen is a 2% reduction in FY 2026 growing to a 5% reduction in FY 2027.
Bad News: Evergreen does get a penalty, a $2.8 million additional cut, as a part of the 5% cut in 2027. Why? Because when the legislature created Evergreen, they envisioned a smaller college which would offer an excellent liberal arts and sciences education at a public-school price. This model does not have the economies of scale that you find at the state’s other public schools.
In fact, Governor Dan Evans wanted Evergreen to become a “flexible and sophisticated educational instrument” and to “unshackle our educational thinking from traditional patterns.” The then Senator Sandison from the Olympic Peninsula endorsed Evan’s approach by saying:
“It was not the intent of the legislature that …Evergreen… would be just another four-year college…(instead) it would be a unique opportunity to meet the needs of …students and would not be bound by rigid structure of tradition as are the existing colleges…” https://archives.evergreen.edu/1971/1971-01/kormondy_acadaffshist1974.pdf
YOU participated in a unique college experience over the past 50 years to meet the call of the legislature. “Economies of scale” were never watchwords on our campus.
And Evergreen’s enrollment has climbed steadily over the past 3 years. We had a 13% year-over-year increase in spring 2025 enrollment. This marks the third consecutive year of spring enrollment growth and includes significant gains among first-generation undergraduate students.
You helped bring down the initial deep cuts!
Here is the Good News!
Shelton Promise was fully funded and now has 55 new students enrolled. The Promise student enrollment will help address the “economies of scale” criticism…
More good news… In the capital budget, Evergreen was awarded $16.3 million to renovate third floors of Lab I and II. We also have funds to continue renovating SEM 1. Please join us to see all the campus changes at Return to Evergreen this Fall.
Also, amid the austerity budget, there is still money to:
…honor our Collective Bargaining agreements to provide salary increases for represented staff of 3% in FY 2026 and 2% in 2027,
…prevent employee furloughs,
…upgrade our IT systems, and
…fully fund the Washington College Grant scholarships.
This coming summer and fall, we want legislators to continue to hear from you. We will increase our contacts with legislators and staff for deeper conversations about Evergreen. Stay tuned for your invitation to get involved!
So, thank YOU for being an Evergreen Advocate.
You can see where your efforts sure paid off!
We’ll see you for the 2026 Legislative Session….
Please send this link to friends or other Greener Alum who might want to join!
Yesterday afternoon the Legislature passed the state’s 2025-27 operating, capital and transportation budgets, sending them to Governor Ferguson for action. In a year when the state faced the largest budget deficit since the Great Recession, the public four-year higher education system came in for a big share of cutbacks in the operating and capital budgets.
In the operating budget, Evergreen will take a 2% reduction in FY 2026 growing to a 5% reduction in FY 2027. These cuts reflect across-the-board reductions for the state’s four-year sector as well as an Evergreen-specific cut of $2.8 million in the second year. The specific cut is meant to reflect Evergreen’s enrollment losses from 2017 through 2021 and to bring Evergreen’s per-student cost to the state closer to the average of the regional universities.
In the capital budget, Evergreen was awarded $16.3 million. The budget includes money to begin designing a renovation of the third floors of Lab I and II. Evergreen will be able to maintain the college’s infrastructure and keep the renovation of SEM 1 on track.
Amid the austerity of the operating budget, there are some grace notes. The amount of the cut is far less than the 28% initially proposed by the House. Collective bargaining agreements to provide salary increases for represented staff of 3% in FY 2026 and 2% in 2027 were funded. The Legislature did not direct employee furloughs.
Evergreen’s ground-breaking Shelton Promise scholarship program was fully funded, as well as $1.4 million to maintain work on IT upgrades. The Washington College Grant scholarship, which is important for many Evergreen students, remains well funded.
Evergreen Advocates Made A Difference
Over the legislative session, support for Evergreen grew in quality and quantity. Alumnae effectively mobilized through Evergreen Advocates, helping to bring down the initial deep cuts. We increased our contacts with legislators and staff and laid the foundation for deeper engagement over critical issues of per-student funding and enrollment growth.
Governor Ferguson now has 20 days to contemplate whether he will sign, veto, partially veto or just allow the budget to come into effect. A veto would mean bringing the Legislature back for a special session.
College leadership can now begin to weigh budget reduction options. Proposals will be shared by Week 9 of Spring quarter (week of May 26), so that the Board of Trustees can consider spending plans in June.
First, we think Governor Evans would argue -- he did in 1977 -- that Evergreen’s unique and innovative education leads to a workforce that can solve complex 21st Century problems and contribute to their community.
Second, we think Dan would be appalled at a proposal to cut Evergreen by an ADDITIONAL $1.8 million ON TOP of the 2% all universities will take.
Dan would say today, as he did to the 1977 Legislature... Evergreen “…was built for approximately 4,000. We have the physical plant in virtually all respects to serve 4,000 students. What would it cost on a per student basis if we were to fill the existing plant? I’m confident that it will show our costs per student will be very much in line with other institutions.” (Evergreen Archives, September 15, 1977)
And Evergreen is now growing! Over the past four years, undergraduate enrollment has increased by 25%, with a notable 8% growth in new student enrollment for the 2024-25 academic year. This marks the largest undergraduate enrollment increase in 40 years.
Governor Evans would ask the 2025 Legislature to encourage Evergreen to grow to its full potential by serving students with unique interdisciplinary and experiential learning.
Please take a moment to send one more appeal to legislators about the cuts. Things are still in flux. Your messages have been making a difference.