The City of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools are investing a combined $14.5 million in a variety of violence interruption and youth safety measures. The funding was announced at a press conference held at Rainier Beach High School Thursday.
SPS Superintendent Brent Jones said students and staff will notice changes on Sept. 4, the first day of school.
“Students might notice new cameras, additional signage, fencing, [and] access control measures. We are doubling security specialist staff at key schools.”
Students and staff will also notice more police officers around school campuses, which Jones said represents a closer relationship with the Seattle Police Department.
“We will be as visible as we possibly can for the purposes of just letting people know we are here to keep you safe and as the school year goes on and we all get to know one another,” said interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr. “I know that the police have work to do in building those trusting relationships, and this makes me hopeful that we can accomplish that.”
The district is also creating a new position called the Executive Director of Student and Community Safety. Money will also go toward hiring more mental health counselors and social workers including 42 new positions to work at 21 school based health centers.
“We see a lot of students in the school based health centers who are going through some sort of crisis or are just looking for support to try and heal themselves, heal their family, sort of turn the tides within their family around generational trauma,” said Chelsea Gallegos, a mental health counselor and social worker at Franklin High School.
Gallegos said the additional support is needed.
“Demand is very high. We have a lot of referrals, and so sometimes the therapists spend a lot of time trying to make referrals outside to other agencies, and that time could be spent in session with students.”
The money will also be used to expand safe passageway programs that help students get to and from school safely, and create a resource fund for families most at risk for gun violence.
“We realize when gun violence impacts a family, it disrupts everything in their life, and so we want to make sure that we have some resources available,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “[The resource fund] could help with clothing, food, utilities and transportation.”
Harrell called the wide ranging strategy unprecedented in the amount of partnership.
The city is currently facing a $260 million budget gap and the school district recently passed a budget closing a $105 million gap, with the possibility of closing down several schools. Despite the financial headwinds, both city and district leaders said investing in school safety is important.
“When we look at what we are prioritizing, this rises to the top,” said Harrell. “We think it’s a good investment.”
Superintendent Jones said they are building an “ecosystem of support” where students are interacting with more and more adults who are focused solely on their safety.
“We are ready to do what it takes to disrupt what's happening and replace it with something better,” Jones said. “We want our students not just to survive. We want our students to thrive.”
The city is contributing the bulk of the funds, $12.25 million, and the district put in $2.3 million.
This initiative will target five high schools and six middle schools that have the highest rates of violence in and around campuses, according to the city.
- High Schools: Rainier Beach, Garfield, Chief Sealth International, Franklin, and Ingraham.
- Middle Schools: Aki Kurose, Washington, Denny, Mercer, Robert Eagle Staff, and Meany.
A shooting at Garfield High School in June rocked the neighborhood, prompting renewed urgency around youth gun violence, safety, and mental health. Amarr Murphy-Paine, 17, was shot and killed in one of the high school's parking lots during lunch.
In 2022, a student at Ingraham High School shot at two other students, killing 17-year-old Ebenezer Haile.
During Thursday's press conference, Rainier Beach High School Principal Annie Patu tearfully read the names of other young people killed by gun violence in the community over the past several years. The names included Xavier Landry, Jashawna Hollingsworth, Conner Dassa-Holland, and Elijah Lewis.
Ricole Jones is the Targeted Program Director at SE Network, Boys & Girls Club. She supports violence interrupters at Rainier Beach High School. She said she’s buried 38 kids since she’s started with the Network 12 years ago.
“[They] looked me in my face and had faith that I was going to be able to spare them from the casket. Our kids come through the door every day, needing help, expecting support,” she said. “I have faith, not in the kids that I've buried, but in the kids that are still sitting here today. And my job is to make sure that you receive the services and supports that you need.”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said the city will look at graduation rates and student sentiment to measure success.
“This is evolving work. We are a learning organization. We have to be a learning city,” Harrel said. “We will learn, we will evaluate, we will measure and we'll do it again.”
