CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to education; amending Ordinance 125207, which adopted the 2017 Budget; changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various funds in the budget; and approving amendments to an Implementation and Evaluation Plan originally approved by Ordinance 123834, as required by Ordinance 123567; all by a 3/4 vote of the City Council.
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WHEREAS, by Ordinance 123567, the City placed before voters a proposition to authorize the City to levy regular property taxes for up to seven years in excess of the 101 percent limitation and any other limitation on levies in chapter 84.55 RCW for the purpose of providing City services, including providing Seattle School District public school students, Seattle youth, and their families with Education-Support Services; and
WHEREAS, on November 8, 2011, the City’s voters approved that proposition; and
WHEREAS, Section 8 of Ordinance 123567 states that voter-approved additional taxes deposited into the Education-Support Services Fund, and interest and other earnings on those taxes, may be spent only in accordance with an implementation and evaluation plan (“the Plan”) approved by ordinance; and
WHEREAS, Section 8 of Ordinance 123567 states that the Plan may be amended by ordinance; and
WHEREAS, The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that secondary school students start school after 8:30 a.m.; and
WHEREAS, beginning with the 2016-17 school year, as a result of this recommendation, the Seattle Public Schools “flipped” the start times for elementary and secondary students, which has resulted in elementary schools starting before 8:00 a.m., creating challenges for young children going to school in darkness; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee has stated that elementary schools should start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. in order to maximize student safety while walking to school; and
WHEREAS, the three-tier bus and bell schedule has resulted in three different school start times, creating challenges for parents with children at multiple grade levels; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Public Schools parents ask that the District to move from a three-tier bus and bell schedule to a two-tier schedule; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Public Schools has made a formal request to the City to provide up to $2.3 million in transportation expenses to implement this change; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Public Schools expects to secure future funding from the State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for these transportation costs; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Public Schools has made a formal request to the City to provide ongoing funding of approximately $376,000 annually to support the school crossing guard program; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee (which includes representatives from Seattle Department of Transportation, Cascade Bicycle Club, Seattle Police Department, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Seattle Public Schools Transportation Department) recommends one or more crossing guards at 107 school locations to provide safe routes for students walking to and from school; and
WHEREAS, one of the purposes of the School Safety Traffic and Pedestrian Improvement Fund (SSTPI) is school traffic and pedestrian safety; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Public Schools is unable to support these requests due to budget constraints; and
WHEREAS, the Executive has recommended that the city provide one-time funding for transportation expenses and on-going funding for school crossing guards to the Seattle School District, and
WHEREAS, funding would come from the Education-Support Services Fund and from a transfer from the SSTPI Fund to the Transportation Operating Fund; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Families and Education Levy Implementation and Evaluation Plan, originally approved by Ordinance 123834, as amended and attached as Attachment 1 to this ordinance, is approved as called for by Section 8 of Ordinance 123567.
Section 2. In order to pay for necessary costs and expenses incurred or to be incurred in 2017, but for which insufficient appropriations were made due to causes that could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time of the making of the 2017 Budget, appropriations for the following items in the 2017 Budget are increased from the funds shown, as follows:
|
Item |
Fund Name and Number |
Department |
Budget Control Level |
Amount |
|
2.1 |
Transportation Operating Fund (10310) |
Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) |
Mobility-Operations (17003) |
$150,400 |
|
2.2 |
School Safety Traffic and Pedestrian Improvement Fund (18500) |
School Safety Traffic and Pedestrian Improvement Fund |
School Safety Education and Outreach, Infrastructure Maintenance, and Capital Improvements (SZF200) |
$150,400 |
|
Total |
$300,800 |
Section 3. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by a 3/4 vote of all the members of the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2017, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2017.
____________________________________
President ____________ of the City Council
Approved by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2017.
____________________________________
Edward B. Murray, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2017.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - The Families and Education Levy Implementation and Evaluation Plan