(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wants to swap out the city’s expiring education levy for a larger version that would raise $1.3 billion over six years, nearly doubling what the current levy brings in and significantly increasing costs for homeowners.
Harrell’s proposed Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy focuses on funding childcare in the city in order to ease the financial burden on lower-income families. According to a press release from the Harrell’s office, the goal is to make every child in Seattle ready for kindergarten.
The proposed $1.3 billion, six-year FEPP levy establishes a rate of 61 cents per $1,000 assessed value. If passed, it would cost the owner of a median assessed value Seattle home of $955,000 about $583 a year, or 65% more than the $353 that homeowner will pay toward the levy this year.
Out of the $1.3 billion in total revenue, $658.2 million would go to expanding affordable early learning and childcare opportunities for Seattle’s families.
This includes doubling access to affordable childcare slots to 1,400 a year at a cost of $154.8 million, and providing direct payments to support the retention of 5,000 childcare workers citywide for $18.5 million.
Another $506.7 million would go toward after-school and summer programs for children, expanding access to in-person mental health services for youth up to 24 years old, and increasing school safety funding in partnership with Seattle Public Schools.
Harrel cited increasing costs for families for the proposed levy renewal.
“With rising costs for childcare and preschool, increased student mental health challenges after the pandemic, and federal funding supporting our education system under threat, this is a critical moment to reinvest in the health, safety, and success of Seattle’s youth and families,” Harrell said in a statement.
While supporters say it’s a necessary investment in the city’s youth, critics have previously said it has not delivered on its goals.
Past FEPP levies have drawn criticism from fiscal watchdogs, including the Washington Policy Center, which stated that the tax did not significantly raise test scores, reduce the achievement gap, increase graduation rates, or make every student college-ready in 2018 when the current levy was on ballot.
Ultimately, the levy was approved by 68% of voters.
The City Council’s Select Committee on the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy will have to adopt the proposal by summer in order for it to appear on the ballot this November. The committee is set to discuss the proposal on May 1.
