Council committee backs Families, Education, Preschool and Promise levy as amended after hours of debate and public comment

Chair Maritz Rivera of the Seattle City Council Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Committee moved Thursday to recommend passage of Council Bill 120981, a proposed property-tax levy renewal that would fund early learning, preschool, K–12 supports and Seattle Promise, and the committee voted to send the measure to full council on June 17 for final consideration.

The committee’s recommendation came after nearly three hours of public comment and detailed debate over 12 proposed amendments. Rivera framed the levy as an investment in children and families, saying the proposal "doubles affordable childcare slots" and "increases access across the city to our award-winning Seattle Preschool Program." She told colleagues the implementation process will include stakeholder engagement and called on members to focus on getting the measure to voters.

Why it matters: The levy would lift the city’s regular property-tax lid under RCW 84.55 and authorize additional taxes for up to six years to fund early learning, academic and health supports, school safety investments and college- and career-pathway programs. The committee’s action is a key procedural step that puts the measure on the council’s June 17 agenda for a final vote and, if approved, on the November ballot for Seattle voters to decide.

Public comment focused heavily on school safety. Dozens of speakers described divergent views from school communities about school resource officers — referred to in testimony and by the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) as school engagement officers, or SEOs — and urged the committee either to protect funding for SEOs where communities request them, or to prioritize restorative practices and non-punitive approaches.

Sarah Bremer, vice president of the Garfield High School PTSA, told the committee, "The Garfield High School PTSA board joins the majority of students, staff, school leadership, and families in urging the Seattle school board to withdraw the indefinite moratorium on school resource resource officers." Several other parents and former Garfield students echoed that position and asked the city not to adopt language that would discourage SEOs in individual school communities.

By contrast, multiple educators and restorative-practices coordinators urged the committee to fund and protect restorative practices work. Leanne Caspi, restorative…