‘An indefensible cut’: Dolly Parton’s death reignites effort to fund WA’s Imagination Library

The death of Dolly Parton is renewing pressure on Washington lawmakers to fully restore state funding for her Imagination Library, an early literacy program the country music icon founded in 1995.

The program mails a free, age-appropriate book each month to children from birth to age 5. Parton created it in her native Sevier County, Tennessee, in honor of her father’s inability to read. Since Washington launched statewide coverage in 2023, more than 4.4 million books have been delivered to children across the state, according to the Imagination Library of Washington.

“I wanted the kids to feel like this was just for them,” Parton said at Tacoma’s Pantages Theater in August 2023 to celebrate the program’s statewide expansion. “When they get old enough to wait for them in the mailbox, they’re going to get that book and make somebody sit down with them and read it.”

WA Legislature cut the program’s state funding in the latest budget

The Washington Legislature cut the state’s 50% funding match in the most recent biennium budget, leaving the program to rely on private donations.

“One of the indefensible cuts of the education budget,” said Chris Reykdal, Washington’s superintendent of public instruction, who shared a stage with Parton at the 2023 event in Tacoma. “You’ll never have a better investment than a few million dollars a year to get books in the hands of kids.”

When state dollars disappeared, some local affiliates dropped out. Brooke Fisher Clark, executive director of the Imagination Library of Washington, said major foundations stepped in to stabilize the program, but gaps remain. Of the state’s 39 counties, 36 now have full coverage. Spokane County currently has no service, and King and Pierce counties have only partial access.

“We will have some great news to share on those counties very shortly, as we have found some new partners to restore service there,” Fisher Clark said, adding that an announcement is expected within weeks.

Reykdal believes the state broke a promise to communities that raised their half

Reykdal said he plans to push the Legislature to reinstate the state match, arguing the cut broke a promise to communities that raised their half of the funding.

“In a world where there’s just abundant research on how little kids are reading now with all the screen time, your first antidote to that is getting kids excited about printed text and books that come to them,” Reykdal said.

Parton died Tuesday at 80 following a brief battle with cancer. Gov. Bob Ferguson ordered flags across Washington to be flown at half-staff through Sept. 1 to honor Parton, following a directive from President Trump for flags to be lowered nationwide.

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