February 14, 2025—With only a week to go before the policy cut-off, legislators are making tough decisions on which bills will proceed to fiscal committees after February 21.  

SB 5424, which would abolish Evergreen and replace it with a branch health-sciences campus of the University of Washington, is not scheduled for hearing in the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development committee before the cut-off. This effectively kills the bill, which was sponsored by Sen. John Braun (R-Centralia), the Senate minority leader.  

The Senate and House higher education committees have heard public testimony on expanding eligibility for the Washington Grant (SB 5402), the most important state scholarship available. Bills to guarantee public college admission to every qualified student in the state (HB 1557), to increase services to students who have experienced sexual assault (SB 5355) and to add more college counselors at high schools (SB 5164) all have strong support.  

But will they pass fiscal scrutiny? The big question is whether the budget deficit, now reported to be more than $12 billion, will permit any additional spending. Legislators are quietly eyeing a combination of increased revenue and cuts to the budgets of state agencies (including four-year public colleges) to bridge the budget gap. How deep those cuts might go is certainly top of mind for budget writers and public institutions such as Evergreen.  

As the Legislature grapples with the budget challenge, Evergreen students and alumni are making their own independent case for why public higher education and especially Evergreen should be spared. In public testimony and in visits to key legislators, they have been telling Evergreen’s story of powerful, interconnected learning that prepares students to succeed at every level in careers, vocations and in problem-solving. 

Evergreen student trustee Joshua Coetzee, along with Evergreen trustee Karen Fraser and trustees from other
public colleges and universities converged on the Legislature January 30 to advocate for higher education.

On February 11, Evergreen student trustee Joshua Coetzee testified in the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee on his transformative educational experience at the Olympia campus. You can see his inspiring testimony at about 4:40 into this recording. 

Later that day, a team of alumni who call themselves Evergreen Advocates fanned out across the Capitol Campus to visit lawmakers and share their positive Evergreen stories. The highlight of the alumni lobby day was a visit to Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, an Evergreen alum who urged them to continue and strengthen their advocacy.