Seattle City Council votes on student mental health funding

Seattle City Council to vote on funding for youth mental health services

The Seattle City Council is voting on plans to release only have of the promised $20 million for youth mental health services. This comes after the same motion failed to pass a budget committee last week.

SEATTLE - The promise of funding $20 million towards mental health services for Seattle students will not be fulfilled. The Seattle City Council voted against restoring the funding in a 4-5 vote during Tuesday’s meeting.

In November 2023, the previous city council approved the $20 million, covered by a tax on the city’s largest businesses. However, students, organizations, and advocates were told earlier in 2024 that the city could only provide half of those promised dollars.

Councilmember Tammy Morales, who was a member of the previous council, proposed an amendment twice this month to restore the promised funds for youth mental health. Morales said the goal was to supply dollars to existing organizations that were already doing the work with Seattle Public Schools.

"I’m bringing this back because we’ve heard overwhelmingly that the solutions that young people need are safer spaces and mental health services with trauma informed response to address gun violence," said Morales. ""We have the ability to do something tangible for the young people across the city to address the urgent crisis that they’re facing in their schools and in their communities."

A few minutes after Morales’ remarks, the amendment failed 4-5.

Tuesday’s vote was met with debate between councilmembers, as well as frustration and disappointment from students and supporters.

"Have a legacy that is worth having. Have the courage of conviction to look these youth in the eyes and make a decision to benefit them. They should not have to beg, they should not have to plead for this funding," said Alexis, a Seattle resident.

During the meeting, council did reach a compromise, voting unanimously on an amendment to add $2.5 million in addition to the $10 million offered so far this year. That brings total funding to $12.5 million for 2024. Councilmember Dan Strauss made the proposal, saying the $2.5 million was more feasible to execute before the year’s end.

Some members of the public still were not satisfied with that amendment.

"Honestly, we should not be here again asking for this money. This is money that belongs to our youth," said Phil Lewis, a local youth advocate. "The previous council made a commitment in response to the rise in gun violence to do something. Many of you campaigned on this promise to do something and to advocate for our youth."

Councilmember Maritza Rivera said her two daughters attended Ingraham High School when their peer was shot and killed at the school in November 2022. Rivera said that shooting and the importance of school safety compelled her to run for city council. She was vocal about school safety during her campaign.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Rivera was one of the five councilmembers who voted against Morales’ amendment to restore the $20 million in funds.

"It is problematic to be making promises to community that we very well know we cannot keep because what you saw today is what happens: people leave here, and children leave here thinking that we are not supporting them when that is the furthest from the truth. And that is very upsetting to me. The performative stuff that happens here at city council that happened before now it is not ok. We shouldn’t be making promises to community that we know we cannot deliver on as an act of symbolism, because community doesn’t understand the difference between a symbolic vote and an actual vote. So, what we voted on today is what we very clearly heard from the executive and from the department who actually has to implement this funding — what they’re able to deliver on this year," said Rivera.

According to Mayor Bruce Harrell’s mid-year supplemental budget package, only $10 million of the original $20 million was authorized for school-based mental health services, including counselors, violence prevention, programs, student leadership development, and telehealth therapy. Representatives with the Mayor’s Office said the previous city council did not clarify how to use the full $20 million, which councilmember Joy Hollingsworth also noted moments before the vote on Tuesday.

Advocates said youth mental health resources are needed more than ever, as more kids are showing signs of stress. They cited the Washington State Healthy Youth Survey results for 2023.

Data for King County showed 60% of 10th graders surveyed felt nervous, anxious or on edge. In that same grade level, more than 45% of students surveyed said they felt unable to stop or control their worries. It said 23.5% of local 10th graders felt depressed.

Statewide results from the Healthy Youth Survey showed 8% of 10th graders did not feel safe at school, with 36% of those kids showing lower grades in school of C’s, D’s and F’s.