By Lorcan Stokes

On Thursday, August 21, Mayor Bruce Harrell, joined by Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones at Rainier Beach High School, announced a $14.55 million investment plan to enhance student safety and mental health in Seattle Public Schools. Addressing an audience of press, families, students, and school staff, Harrell emphasized that this initiative is a response to the rise in gun violence as the new school year approaches.

"This is in addition to the nearly $37 million investment that we are currently making in violence interruption and community-based organizations designed to address the root causes of violence," Harrell explained. "So this is not just window dressing for one day or one week or one year. This is a part of a sustainable investment strategy to protect our communities."

The $14.55 million investment, including $12.25 million from the City of Seattle and $2 million from Seattle Public Schools, will bolster mental health support, strengthen school security, increase school staffing, and expand gun violence prevention and intervention services through partnerships with groups like the Seattle Community Safety Initiative(SCSI).

"The epidemic of gun violence has done a number in our communities and especially our young people. Rainer Beach has benefited from the investments from the city that has been made through the education levy and the Seattle Community Safety Initiative," Annie Patu, the principal of Rainier Beach High School, said of previous resources. "But we know it's not enough, so I want to publicly thank Mayor Harrell and Superintendent Jones for locking arms to make an even deeper investment to keep all of our kids and our campuses safe."

This investment strategy, as Harrell explained, is outlined by a "three-pronged approach" to tackle the issue of violence in and around Seattle's schools. The first prong, focusing on school-based measures, includes a $5.6 million investment towards hiring more mental health counselors and care coordinators across 21 school-based health centers with an increased focus on expanding access to telehealth services. 

The second prong will see an investment of $4.25 million in community-led gun violence intervention and interruption resources, such as the Boys and Girls Club's organized Safe Passage program at Rainier Beach High School. The third and last prong of the strategy is a targeted law enforcement presence around schools, particularly on the first day of the new school. Harrell explained that it will showcase "an emphasis around the schools to make sure that we are there for you, protecting our community."

This policing initiative will target eleven high schools and middle schools with the highest rates of violence on and around their campuses. These include Rainier Beach, Garfield, Chief Sealth International, Franklin, Ingraham High Schools, and Aki Kurose, Washington, Denny Mercer, Robert Eagle Staff, and Meany Middle Schools.

Superintendent Jones echoed Mayor Harrell's sentiments on safety, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between the city, schools, and community organizations in creating a safe and supportive student environment. 

"We know if students don't feel safe, they cannot learn. That's facts. So our commitment is to continue to listen so we can understand what the needs are. We can be relevant, we can be strategic," Jones said. "Things that we can do can be attainable, and we want to make sure that our students understand, that we understand what their needs are."

Jones also acknowledged the emotional toll that gun violence has taken on the community, expressing his connection to the issue as a parent of an SPS graduate. 

"We are here representing that we are ready to do what it takes to disrupt what's happening and replace it with something better. We want our students not just to survive. We want our students to thrive," Jones affirmed.

Joining Harrell, Jones, and Patu in speaking were Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, Chelsea Gallegos, a Mental Health Counselor for the Franklin Teen Health Center, Ricole Jones, the Targeted Program Director for the SE Network Boys & Girls Club as part of the SCSI, and Ray Proctor Jr., a Rainier Beach High School senior who has been directly impacted by gun violence, losing both friends and family. Proctor emphasized the crucial role that the Safe Passage program has played in his high school experience.

"They've helped me. They've been here. They've been here through the gun violence. They've protected me. They're protected, my brothers, even though I've lost some," Proctor said, highlighting the death of his cousin Amarr Murphy-Paine earlier this year. "That was my cousin, but they helped me through it. They talked to me. They've been there with a whole even through everything that happened."

Despite this $14.55 million investment, both Mayor Harrell and Superintendent Jones emphasized that this is just the beginning of tackling the gun violence issue plaguing neighborhoods within Seattle.

"When we lose a child, I feel like I lost a child," Harrell said. "We have to be smarter and more collaborative than the bad people."