Seattle City Council approves funding for mental health grants for students

Seattle – The Seattle City Council has signed on to include Mayor Bruce Harrell’s budget of $10 million for mental health funding to support students.

There will be millions for the city to spend by the end of 2024, but that number is about half of what the city received last fall. Some council members and students say the law is not enough to meet the needs of schools.

One by one, students and advocates testified before the Seattle City Council Tuesday afternoon about the need for more mental health supports for preschoolers.

“I was abused a lot for a long time of my life. I met older children and older people who helped me in everything,” explained the seventh student named Aden.

“They give us trips, food and culture and help us make the right decisions,” added one student.

It’s a skepticism echoed by the Washington Association of School Psychologists.

“Especially in the post-pandemic world, students come with very high mental health needs, be it anxiety, depression, PTSD,” explained Kristin Schuster with the organization. He’s a Tacoma school psychologist who estimates he supports about 11,000 students on his own, including about 20 trips to his office each day.

The public comments come as Councilors Tammy Morales and Dan Strauss urged the full council to amend Mayor Harrell’s budget for $10 million in facilities, such as telehealth treatment services for more than 2,000 students and other investments announced in June.

Morales argued that the city should keep the $20 million council approved last year after working with students who spoke out after the deadly shooting at Ingraham High School.

“There are more programs that can benefit you in other services,” Morales said.

Shannon Mayo and the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action also volunteer with community groups that already support SPS students. He agrees with other members of the council that they need more help to participate.

“For example, the Southeast Network is an organization based in Rainier Beach and they told me they’ve seen a 30 percent decrease in violent crime since their work began in 2015. Imagine that what that work and what that outcome would look like with better funding,” Mayo said.

City officials have made it clear that the funds must be spent by the end of 2024. Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington added that there were no reported discussions with community groups or mental health officials to come up with the initial figure. of 20 million dollars, and that 10 million dollars of the mayor announced. in June was the total the city aims to spend by the end of 2024.

“It’s been 9 months since the council passed the budget, and there should have been a plan sooner that included 20 million,” Morales noted.

In the end, the council rejected Morales’ amendment to save $20 million, and instead signed Dan Strauss’ tax amendment to add $2.5 million to Mayor Harrell’s $10 million. .

“What we are hearing now is that it will be a challenge but let us see if we can do it with this money,” Councilor Strauss said.

The council explained the additional funding means there is about $4.5 million left for mental health resources for students through December. The council will meet again in September to discuss next year’s budget.

Judge Maritza Rivera ended the discussion by urging the court to avoid making false promises to voters, such as the 20 million dollars in this case, when students and others were seen leaving courtrooms in dismay.

Seattle students have been vocal about the need for more school counselors and other support in the wake of two deadly shootings at Ingraham High School in 2022, and Garfield High School in Spring 2024. In November 2023, they they want $20 million from the planned Amazon. tax increase.