Councilmember M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide), chair of the Gender Equity, Safe Communities, New Americans and Education Committee, along with her Council colleagues, passed the implementation and evaluation plan for the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy out of committee today. The implementation plan will go before the Full Council during its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, April 22.
“The City of Seattle has a long-standing tradition of supporting the academic success of our littlest learners and public school students through levy investments. Today, my committee builds on that legacy by advancing an investment plan that expands quality preschool and creates pathways to a career or college, and for the first time, dedicates resources to increase teacher diversity and address student housing instability,” said Councilmember González.
“I am proud of the work we have done, together, to invest in strategies to help close the opportunity gap and ensure every student, regardless of their income level or the neighborhood they live in, will have access to high-quality public education.
“There are many people that got us to this vote. I want to thank former Councilmember Rob Johnson who was instrumental to get us here today, as well as the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Education and Early Learning. We could not do this work without important partnerships with Seattle Public Schools, Seattle Colleges, the numerous community-based organizations doing frontline work in our schools and in our communities, the Levy Oversight Committee, and everyone else who weighed in about equitable education for historically and underserved students in Seattle. This plan stays true to what Seattle’s generous voters approved last November, and whether it’s inside or outside the classroom, these investments are one way we put our values into action: we believe in the potential of every student and they are worth investing in.”
Seattle voters, by nearly 70 percent, approved the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Plan in November 2018. Mayor Jenny Durkan transmitted the levy’s implementation and evaluation plan in March. The plan will nearly double the number of slots in the Seattle Preschool Program, invests in K-12 education, funds school-based health clinics, and expands the Seattle Promise, which provides two free years of college for local high school graduates. Learn more about these funding opportunities with the Department of Education and Early Learning.