What a crowd! Filling the steps of City Hall.
On July 31, public school students from Rainier Beach High School and other schools in Seattle marched from SPS Headquarters to City Hall to draw attention to the transportation challenges they face and to call for free ORCA passes for all public school students.
Beginning from SPS Headquarters in SODO, the march headed towards downtown.
Currently, only high school students who live more than 2.5 miles from their school are eligible for a free ORCA pass subsidized by the school district. The distance cut-off for middle schoolers is 2.0 miles. Not only is five or more miles (the distance is measured “as the crow flies”) a long way to walk to and from school, often there is no safe route to walk, due to dangerous traffic or neighborhoods.
It’s illegal to not go to school, why isn’t it illegal to not give kids a way to get there?
Since 2011, Metro fares for youth have risen from $0.75 to $1.25 and now to $1.50, or $54 for a monthly pass. This is not affordable for low-income families. It’s time for our city to provide free transportation for all students to get to school!
It was a long march! 1.6 miles… still significantly shorter than many students without bus passes have to walk.
Almost there!
Bus fare costs more than lunch. What??
A students speaks!
A student at Rainier Beach High School speaks.
We need transportation!
Mayor Murray speaks to the students with words of support. Will we get action?
Dancing for justice
We are talking about some of the poorest neighborhoods in Seattle, WA.
How can bus fares, exceeding the costs of School Lunches, be justified – our city has made “Safe Routes to School” a priority. Why are High School students being denied safe access to their classrooms? We talk about college females, becoming victims of sexual assault — why don’t we respect female High School students at least to that level of concern? High School students today, are just as ‘fully developed’, as their college counterparts; and sexual predators, may not be able to differentiate between these two groups! A great deal can happen between Points A and B; especially when they are 2+ miles, apart.
Shouldn’t Seattle’s “Safe Routes to School” include our junior and senior high schools, as well as the ‘lower’ grades, that are already being funded?