"No on I-2109" Gathered Educators, Business Owners, and More at Tyee Press Conference Today

[EDITORS NOTE: There will be several Washington initiatives on the November ballot, therefore Burien.News plans to publish press releases and information from both the "pro" and "con" points of view. By providing balanced information (including sponsors and top contributors), we intend to help our readers make informed choices in November.]‍

No on 2109: Paid for by No on 2109 Committee. Top Contributors: WA Federation of State Employees, SEIU Initiative Fund, Invest in Washington Now, Fuse Washington and Washington Education Association

‍Educators, Students, Childcare Providers, Parents, Small Business Owners, Construction Workers, and More Rally to Protect Education Funding, Oppose I-2109

Opponents of I-2109 spoke at the new Tyee High School construction site in SeaTac today, which benefits from money raised by the tax targeted by I-2109

‍SeaTac: As parents prepare to send their kids back to school, opponents of I-2109 rallied today to warn voters that the loss of revenue would lead to drastic cuts in funding for education and childcare, and harm Washington State’s economy. The event was held at the construction site of the new Tyee high school in SeaTac, one of over 170 school construction projects that have been funded by the capital gains tax on mega-millionaires and billionaires.

A new report from the Washington State Budget and Policy Center lays out the school construction projects by county. The report also details the number of pre-K and childcare slots in each county created by the capital gains tax. A separate report released in June shows the impacts of I-2109 on the state’s economy including a loss of over 10,000 jobs and nearly $1 billion in GDP annually.

Shawna Moore, a former teacher at Tyee High School spoke about how the conditions at the old school impacted her students:

“What message do you think it sends our students about how much the state cares about their education when it can’t even put a non-leaking roof over their heads? How was I supposed to conduct a PE class when the gym roof is leaking and my students were at risk of slipping and being injured during our activities? A new Tyee high school was long overdue and thanks to funding from the state’s limited capital gains tax on extraordinary profits, our students and families are finally going to get the school they deserve. But projects like this one all across our state are threatened if Initiative 2109 passes and cuts that funding.”

‍Jurnee Robinson, a senior at Tyee highlighted the inequities in school construction funding and how the capital gains tax has address this issue:
“The students and teachers at Tyee watched as wealthier school districts got new schools long before we did. Then finally, thanks in part to the capital gains tax on extraordinary profits, we got ours. While I won’t be a student here anymore by the time the new school is finished in 2025, I’m excited that future and younger students, including my brother in a few years, will have the learning environment that they deserve.”

‍Rep. Tina Orwall (33rd LD) spoke about the impacts of this funding on students’ mental health and achievement:

“As a former clinical social worker with 20 years of experience in the public mental health system, I’m especially concerned about the impacts that these conditions have on our kids’ mental health. We all know about the nationwide teen mental health crisis. Studies have shown that the buildings our kids learn in have an impact on mental health, emotional well-being, and achievement.”

Andrea Ornelas, Assistant Political Director at Laborers 242, spoke about the impacts of loss of funding for school construction jobs and childcare opportunities for those who want to pursue careers in skilled trades:

“If Initiative 2109 passes, it would eliminate over 10,000 jobs from our state’s economy per year. That includes good-paying construction jobs like the ones right here at the site of the new Tyee high school. The kinds of jobs that gave my family stability and a path to the middle class. Initiative 2109 also threatens hundreds of millions of dollars in childcare funding every year. A lack of affordable child-care is one of the greatest barriers for folks who want to enter programs like ANEW and pursue a career in the trades.”

‍Diana Llanes, Once Upon a Time bilingual childcare center in Burien discussed how I-2109 would harm working families who depend on childcare programs like hers:

“Initiative 2109 is a direct threat to our ability to provide high quality care to parents and children who need it most.. The capital gains tax on the super-rich has created more than 10,000 new affordable childcare slots in Washington, including 3,000 in King County alone. The families who enroll their children in our center rely on this funding. If Initiative 2109 passes, as many as half of the families we work with will no longer be able to afford childcare. This would be catastrophic for these kids and their families. And for my small business.”

‍Kathryn Sharpe, an ECEAP Parent Ambassador, spoke spoke about how ECEAP has made a difference in her kids’ lives:

“I lived in Bozeman Montana when my older kids were born. Montana does not have an ECEAP program, and we did not have enough points to qualify for HeadStart. My younger kids were fortunate enough to attend ECEAP, and the difference was night and day. They excelled academically when they entered Kindergarten. Not only that, but ECEAP taught them valuable life skills and confidence.”

‍Daniel Olmstead, owner of Poverty Bay Coffee in Federal Way discussed the impacts of I-2109 on small businesses:

“As a small, family owned business, our roastery is already exempted from this tax. Other small businesses, business and personal real estate, stocks held in retirement accounts, are also exempt. It only applies to the richest 1% of people making millions while gambling on IPOs and Wall Street. Our big corporate competitors pay the same tax rate, or even less, than what our business pays. If I-2109 passes, small businesses like mine will be under more tax pressure to make up the difference because we don’t have the lobbyists or PACs the big guys have.”

About I-2109

Washington voters will decide this fall whether or not to pass Initiative 2109, to cut over $2.2 billion in 5 years from education, childcare, and early learning to hand a tax cut to less than 1% of extremely wealthy Washingtonians by repealing the state’s limited capital gains tax on extraordinary profits.

The money raised by the tax goes to funding education, childcare and early learning. Sales of real estate, retirement assets, small businesses, and farms are exempted. It applies only to annual profits above $250,000 a year from the sales of financial assets such as stocks and bonds.

Learn more about the impacts of Initiative 2109 at no2109.org

Video of the press conference available here

Paid for by No on 2109 Committee
PO Box 2196, Seattle, WA, 98111

Top Contributors:
WA Federation of State Employees, SEIU Initiative Fund, Invest in Washington Now, Fuse Washington and Washington Education Association

‍