Families and Education Levy Approved by Council to Go Before Voters
The Times has an article about the City Council approving the levy sent by the Mayor (after some massaging by them). The City Council cut back on how much the pre-K program would get, favoring programming already at SPS elementary schools.
What is troubling is the comments. Now you can rarely read some of the comments at the Times with any real conviction but these seem more sad than strident. And, there are very few in support of this levy. One bright spot is that many people say that the district should be taking care of education (and maybe that will translate to votes for the SPS levies in Feb. 2019.
And, for me, until the wording is clarified that these K-12 levy dollars are just for Seattle Public Schools, I will not vote for it. The levy is mum on who can actually access the dollars, leaving it open for charter schools to apply.
Again, it would be very sad to lose the City levy. It would be a disaster to lose the district levies, especially the one for facilities, BEX V.
Comments:
Seattle voters will decide later this year whether the city should collect more than $600 million in property taxes for education programs Mayor Jenny Durkan says would create an “opportunity pipeline” from preschool through K-12 to community college.This levy rolls out at $637.8M.
The seven-year measure, which the City Council voted unanimously Monday to send to the November ballot, would grow Seattle’s subsidized-preschool program by 1,000 seats, mostly maintain funding for K-12 programs and help make community college free for all students graduating from the city’s public high schools.
The Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy also would help open additional student-health centers in K-12 schools.
What is troubling is the comments. Now you can rarely read some of the comments at the Times with any real conviction but these seem more sad than strident. And, there are very few in support of this levy. One bright spot is that many people say that the district should be taking care of education (and maybe that will translate to votes for the SPS levies in Feb. 2019.
And, for me, until the wording is clarified that these K-12 levy dollars are just for Seattle Public Schools, I will not vote for it. The levy is mum on who can actually access the dollars, leaving it open for charter schools to apply.
Again, it would be very sad to lose the City levy. It would be a disaster to lose the district levies, especially the one for facilities, BEX V.
Comments:
Wow! A whole week before asking before asking for more taxes. How tone deaf do you have to be to roll out another, bigger tax on the citizens of this city. Our property taxes just significantly jumped to "pay" for education, but now the council wants to double or triple down. They just don't get it.
I do support free community college but not universal preschool. Community college tuition is much cheaper than universal preschool because we are working with an existing system.
I will however vote against this massive tax bill. They are tone deaf. Stop experimenting with our city I’ll you deal with the emergency on hand.
In nearly 50 years as a registered voter, I have never voted against an education levy. I firmly believe that this is how we level the playing field for all. Children should not be the ones to pay the price for their parents’ poor choices or inability to provide. However, because I have lost what shreds remained of a once hopeful belief that any of the current Councilmembers could be trusted to be wise stewards of our tax dollars, I will be voting no on this.
This will probably be my first NO vote for education, pretty sure its a NO from me, for the first time in a decade.
NO! This isn’t an education levy. They can separate K-12 spending when this gets voted down. The rest is new programs and new taxes. Vote NO.
Comments
-Simone
Gates poured $1M into the city's last prek campaign. I suspect Gates and others will provide a lot of funding for the city's Family and Education Levy campaign.
Wasn't Green Dot involved with planning the Family and Education Levy? Gates also bank rolled the charter school initiative.
-nope
Another Name has it correct: it is far more important for the SPS levies in February to succeed. Durkan's version of the Families and Education Levy should be rejected and sent back for fine-tuning, including clear prohibitions against any money going to charter schools. Durkan should also levy a $500 per FTE head tax on the city's largest companies and use that to reduce the amount of property tax in the revised Families and Education Levy she'll surely propose in 2019 or 2020.
Zoologist
Adding to the pain is that many of us are taxed out, even as a number of very large levies are headed our way.
I understand tax fatigue but I also calculate that because we do not have an income tax, I pay far fewer taxes than my out of state friends. I am not sure how I'll vote. I'll need to read more.
I have a call into the City Council members to ask about whether they support using levy dollars for charter schools. So far Mosequeda's people seem to think it is only for for SPS K-12 but I see no language like that in the levy nor language barring its use for charter schools. So I see a loophole there that I believe will be exploited. Gonzalez does not support the use of public dollars for charter schools.
HF
Are you opposed then to eligible preschoolers being able to served at private preschool providers?
If that's OK with you, how do you square your opposition to these funds going to support students at charter public schools in Seattle?
Albert
Charter schools are private schools, no different from Lakeside School or Holy Names or whatever other private school you want to name. If charter schools want to operate in Seattle they can do so without public money, same as anyone else. It is unacceptable for the city to aid charter schools in any way.
Word of advice --- maybe you should familiarize yourself with our state's charter public school laws before you post another rant like your one above.
Albert
If the above story isn't enough, you may want to look at the cozy relationship charter schools had with a member of the charter commission and a small school district 50 miles north of Spokane that funneled public dollars to charter schools when the Supreme Court determined charter schools were unconstitutional.
There is a real lack of transparency and trust when it comes to charter schools.
Oh..and as an aside, Gates continues to reward the Mary Walker school district for their part in the charter school debacle.
As an aside, Running Start dollars get funneled through school districts that have real local and elected oversight. Very different than charter schools. Some want you to think that Running Start and charter schools are the same. They are not.
No on 1240 is right; someone in the City has a cozy relationship with Green Dot and hence, my justified suspicion. Also, when you can't get electeds to go on record about something directly related to a levy they want you to vote for, be suspicious.
How is that different than charter schools in your mind? You can obfuscate behind your "I said K-12" statement, but the argument is the same.
Are you opposed to private preschool providers getting levy funds? These private providers don't have elected boards and a good number of them are for-profit.
Albert
https://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/07/28/king-county-superior-court-judge-rules-that-the-woodland-park-zoo-is-not-subject-to-the-public-disclosure-act
Public dollars should equate to public oversight. There are other private entities that receive public dollars that I question, too.
"If A, then B AND C, ergo ipso facto...
Here's a gold star for you for word play and logical non sequiturs!
Schools and districts contract all the time with private entities. We have to. That certainly doesn't mean that we must contract with ALL private entities, or that contracting with private entities is ALWAYS a positive thing.
What charter company do you work for, Albert?
; )
HF
The vast majority of this levy will be going to private providers. IMHO, I do think that is an important detail, when you are considering how PUBLIC dollars are managed and the oversight of those dollars.
The cost for the Seattle Preschool Program is RIDICULOUS and the oversight of those dollars is sorely lacking. Frankly, I would have much more confidence in those dollars being properly managed if 100% of the money was just passed over to SPS and SPS was converted to a Pre-K to 12 district.
SPS is well known for their substantial administrative overhead. But SPS also manages to deliver services every year. SPS manages to find classrooms, enroll students, hire teachers and all of those details critical to providing public education services at a tiny fraction of the SSP budget.
I will be voting NO on this levy. This will be the first time I vote no on an education levy.