Supporting Educational Levies is Good for the Community, Good for the Economy

by msjones

This month Seattle voters will cast their ballots on Propositions 1 and 2, levies to support Seattle Public Schools. These levies are critical to providing our district with the funds they need to educate our kids. We encourage you to vote YES on each of the levies to ensure every child can get a quality public education.

If you haven’t been following the levies, here are the basics. Proposition 1, the Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) Levy, covers the operating gaps the State currently does not fund. For example, the State funds nine nurses, the district employs 63. Proposition 2, the Building Excellence V (BEX V) Capital Levy, funds the construction of new buildings, design for future schools, and equitable technology investments in classrooms. The list of projects to be completed by BEX V can be found here.

sea.citi has been making our own investments in local schools over the last few months. Our network of tech and innovation workers want all kids to thrive. We volunteer, raise flexible funds, source school supplies, and help connect education to work. We do this because supporting local public education is critical to maintaining a healthy community and strong economy here in Seattle.

Let’s make sure young people in our city get the education they deserve. Vote YES on Propositions 1 & 2 and make sure to return your ballot by Tuesday, February 12th.

If you want more details about the levies, make sure to look at Seattle Public Schools levies page.

sea.citi hosts State Representatives to discuss their priorities for the upcoming legislative session at Amazon

by msjones

On January 11th at noon, a number of tech and innovation workers from across the sea.citi community gathered in an Amazon conference room – both to engage with each other, and to hear some of their State Representatives talk about Democratic Caucus priorities for the upcoming legislative session. The session was purposefully modest – no fancy presentations, giant banners, or tv cameras. The Lunch & Learn was simply that: have some food and engage in a dialogue.

Representatives Lauren Davis (District 32), Nicole Macri (District 43), and Noel Frame (District 36) were on hand in part to talk with their constituents. But underneath that was, we think, a real desire to hear from Seattle’s sometimes “elusive” innovation economy worker. Our ilk has grown rapidly over the past decade and while policymakers and elected officials know we are here, they don’t always know how to find venues where they can offer thoughts and receive important input.

sea.citi CEO Nicholas Merriam and Amazon executive Eileen Sullivan led the conversation which included a broad range of topics, providing these Democratic Representatives an opportunity to highlight their priorities, especially the “must address” issues for the upcoming session. As they spoke a few themes emerged:

  1. Mental health and addiction have a domino effect across the community. They noted these issues exacerbated already challenging problems and must be stemmed using more aggressive services as well as more funding to support these services.
  2. Updating laws to reflect current technology. While the companies across Seattle and the state may be at the cutting edge, the state government is not. Specifically, Rep. Frame noted that many of the current laws have not kept pace and there is a real need to connect the ubiquity of today’s devices, services and uses with how law enforcement and others intersect with the private, public and personal arenas.
  3. Affordability was an overarching theme specific to lower- and moderate-income residents. It included affordable housing, childcare, healthcare, and student debt. Rep. Macri noted they specifically plan to push on housing policy throughout the session.

Following their moderated conversation, audience members asked a few questions. They only had time to discuss two of them: 1) What can we do to promote a more progressive tax structure? and 2) Public safety and security in areas like Ballard feels in decline. What can we do about it?

Attendees were encouraged to reach out to their own representatives if they supported a more progressive tax system while Ballard public safety was more of a Seattle City Council question – yet they also gave both personal and policy guidance to the questioner.

Following the event, many participants had a chance to ask one-on-one questions with the Representatives. Participants left knowing more, at a deeper level about what some of their elected officials are going to prioritize and how they could support those issues if they wanted too. This is what sea.citi is all about.

Our next member exclusive Lunch & Learn will be at Vulcan on February 1st where we will talk to experts about educational funding including McCleary and the upcoming Seattle School Levies.

Member exclusive events, like these, are just one benefit of becoming a sea.citi member. To learn more about how your company can join sea.citi, visit our membership page.