Erika Creydt Longest Serving Blaine School Board Director: Schools

Public education remains one of the most powerful equalizers we have, opening doors that might otherwise remain closed. Erika Creydt has devoted her career to helping youth access essential behavioral health services and devoted her time ensuring the local public school system is operating well for our youth. There can only be so much done at the local level and this advocacy work needs to continue in Olympia at the larger systemic level.

 

The Impact

 

• Enrichment levies were intended to fund programs beyond basic education, but many Washington school districts now rely on levy dollars to support core operations because state funding does not fully cover actual costs.

• Washington law explicitly states that Local Effort Assistance (state matching funds for enrichment levies) is “not basic education,” highlighting the gap between state basic education funding and actual district costs.

• In many districts, levy funding supports services such as counselors, nurses, special education costs, safety, technology, transportation, extracurricular activities, and additional classroom staff that are not fully funded by the state formula.