The Municipal League of King County today announced its support for the Seattle school levy Propositions No. 1 and No. 2 on the Feb. 9th Special Election ballot. A full summary of our report is available online at http://www.munileague.org/issues/ballot-issues.

In recent years, the Seattle School District has demonstrated accountability and a sincere effort to change the way it has managed its finances in response to community needs. The school levies are an integral part of the ongoing operating and capital budgets of the District. Without them, our schools would lose almost a quarter of their general fund along with much of their ability to maintain safe, modern and well-maintained school buildings. The levies replace existing voter-approved levies and do not represent an increase in tax rates. The League has consistently supported school levies over the years as there are major gaps in state funding for education that must be filled to meet the needs of our communities.

Proposition No. 1, Capital Levy -- YES
Prop. 1 allocates a total of $270 million over six years to hundreds of individual projects in three major components: buildings, technology and academics. Building projects include preventive maintenance, seismic reinforcement and energy efficiency and green projects. Technology projects include enhanced technology-based tools for students and teachers and replacement of technology infrastructure in schools and at the central office. The academics component includes student assessment systems, special education improvements, early learning classrooms, the creation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) school and re-opening five schools in the district. Prop. 1 is a continuation of levies approved by Seattle voters in 1998 and 2004.

Proposition No. 2, Operations Levy –YES
Prop. 2 supports basic educational services including teachers and instructional assistants, full-day kindergarten, a six-period day at high schools, bilingual and special education services, textbooks and classroom supplies, buses, and other student activities such as athletics, drama and music. The levy accounts for 23.5% of the Seattle School District’s annual budget.

Ballot recommendations are determined by groups of citizen volunteers who study the issue and hear from parties on all sides. The recommendations are then reviewed and approved by the Municipal League Board of Trustees, whose focus is on promoting effective government.