Seattle voters will decide this fall whether to renew a property tax that not only helps pay for early childhood education, K-12 student services and post-secondary tuition and career support, but more than doubles the availability of subsidized child care.
On Tuesday, Mayor Bruce Harrell signed legislation to send the $1.3 billion, six-year Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy (FEPP) to the November ballot. The City Council unanimously adopted the bill on June 17.
The proposal on November’s ballot is double the size of the previous six-year $619 million levy, which nearly 69% of voters approved in 2018.
“This levy is a powerful investment in Seattle’s future – giving every child in our city the strong start they deserve and setting them up for long-term success in school and life,” said Harrell in an emailed statement Tuesday. “I’m especially pleased that this levy will double access to affordable childcare and support new apprenticeship and career pathways for recent graduates, easing the cost pressures on working families while also helping build the next generation of skilled workers in our city.”
If approved, the levy would provide $658 million for Seattle’s preschool program and to increase the availability of subsidized child care for low-income families from 600 slots to 1,400.
About $275 million would be spent on K-12 programing to support student learning and college readiness. Another $235 million would be invested in K-12 mental health and safety to help provide counseling, mental health resources and violence prevention programming. That bucket of funding could also potentially pay for a return of school resource officers — Seattle Police officers assigned to schools — should the School Board move away from its 2020 moratorium on police in schools.
The FEPP levy would use $82.4 million for the Seattle Promise program, which provides Seattle students with two years of free tuition at Seattle-based community colleges, and for career training programs.
The six-year tax would charge residents $0.61 per $1,000 of assessed value. According to City Council staff, the owner of a median $1.08 million Seattle home would pay about $656 annually for the levy.
Seattleites have approved six similar education levies since 1990.
