When Mayor McGinn arrived outside West Seattle High School Wednesday morning to campaign for the Families and Education Levy (Seattle Prop 1 on next Tuesday’s ballot), some of the citywide media swarmed him to ask about a different ballot measure – Seattle Transportation Benefit District Prop 1, which would raise money for transportation projects via $60 added to car tabs. They were following up on Seattle Times (WSB partner) reporter Mike Lindblom‘s story about $400,000 of that money possibly going to revise the Bicycle Master Plan, more than its original cost. Plans change all the time, the mayor was heard to explain. Eventually, the event got back on topic – the levy; specifically, the funding it includes for school-based health centers. That’s what brought a couple of industry executives to join the mayor, including Neighborcare CEOMark Secord:
His company runs clinics at all of West Seattle’s public middle schools and high schools. They offer service beyond what the traditional “school nurse” offers – they run centers that offer services to students including so-called “confidential” care such as mental and reproductive health, as well as vaccinations and other checkups. He says flatly that if the levy loses, those centers close. Photographers were invited into the WSHS clinic after the news conference ended. Physician assistant Auky van Beek was on duty:
The clinic funding has been singled out by levy supporters for months; when we covered the first PTSA meetings of the year at both WSHS and Chief Sealth, we noted that both groups were addressed by the Neighborcare staffers at the respective school health centers, pointing out the levy’s relation to funding their services. A news release following Wednesday’s event said the health funding portion of levy proceeds would total more than $40 million over the measure’s 7-year lifespan.
| 17 COMMENTS