On Oct. 5, the City Council unanimously voted to endorse a levy on the upcoming Nov. 3 ballot that aims to “invest from the very beginning so kids get the best start they possibly can.”

The Best Starts for Kids levy (Prop. 1) is based on groundbreaking research from the University of Washington and is “the only of its kind in the country,” said Michelle Sarju, co-chair of the campaign.

About 75 percent of the King County budget goes to the criminal justice system, and “locking people up isn’t the answer,” she said.

The levy would fund many programs, including early screenings for children to identify early challenges, which could eliminate the need for special education for that child later on.

In addition, 5 percent of the money would go to evaluation of those programs. The Gates Foundation would aid in the writing of an implementation plan for Best Starts, but it has not been written yet.

“We are selectively bold in terms of the support we offer for key initiatives, like [gun control intiative] 594,” Councilmember Debbie Bertlin said. “This is an opportunity to make a strong statement as a community.”

Councilmember Mike Cero said, “given the preciousness of what this is addressing, we can go in with a level of imperfection,” but that the King County Council must provide rigorous oversight and ensure that the evaluation is based on outputs instead of inputs; results achieved rather than dollars spent.

Councilmember Benson Wong said that “a lot of kids don’t have the advantages of kids that live on Mercer Island,” and that, “investing in kids, in future, is the most important thing we can do as a society.”

The proposed levy rate for Best Starts for Kids is 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. It would raise about $65 million per year and cost the average King County property owner an estimated $56 per year.

For more, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/initiatives/best-starts-for-kids.aspx.