Access to the Arts: On the Ballot in August

At KEXP, we don’t often get involved in electoral politics. We don’t endorse candidates for office, and we typically don’t tell you how to vote. But elections often do play a role in defining a future for music and art so you will hear us encouraging everyone to register and vote, as we did last year during our “Tune In and Turn Out” campaign. We also take steps to let you know when there’s an issue in politics or government that will have a big impact on KEXP and our ability to pursue our mission of enriching your life by championing music and discovery.

One such issue will be on the ballot for King County voters on August 1st. King County Proposition 1, also known as Access for All. If a majority of King County voters approve it, Prop 1 will create a new fund for arts, science, and heritage education and access for residents and public school students. This fund would provide arts, science, and heritage organizations like KEXP with significant new resources to sustain existing programs, greatly expand free and reduced-price access to programming, and create new long-term partnerships with King County public schools and school districts.

Access for All would be paid for with a .1% sales tax levy (1 penny on every $10 spent) which would cost the average King County household about $3 per month. The Access for All program is designed to place a strong emphasis on making sure all King County public school students have experiences with art, culture, heritage and science, and improving access for people living in rural areas, seniors, communities of color, and low-income families.

For KEXP and for local public school students, the impact would be huge. Prop 1 funds would provide KEXP with enough annual funding to greatly expand our collaboration with public schools, with a specific intent of providing direct experience with music and music discovery among low-income youth, immigrant youth, and youth of color. Additionally, this funding would provide needed stability to KEXP’s operating fund at a time when another source of this stability -- funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- is a great risk.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing discussions and interviews with a handful of other organizations who will also see an impact from Prop 1. Those organizations -- Seattle Music Partners, Totem Star, Coyote Central, and Rain City Rock Camp for Girls -- will each be featured in a profile right here on the KEXP Blog. Keep an eye out for these features for more information on these great organizations!