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Mayor Jenny Durkan wants to renew education funding while cutting budgets city-wide

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KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is reiterating her plan to cut the budget of every department in the city.

Speaking on KUOW's The Record on Thursday, Durkan declined to specify how steep the cuts will be, but she did say spending reductions will vary depending on department.

However, she does want to see the Seattle Families and Education Levy expanded.

The levy is a voter-approved initiative originally passed in 1990.

"We're going to be renewing that levy and renewing the preschool levy,” Durkan said. “Both of them expire this year. We're going to be combining them both on the November ballot as one levy.”

The new levy would cost owners of a median-priced home $248 per year.

Durkan said she expects the new levy to double the number of preschool slots and provide two years of free college for all public school students.

In March, Durkan told KUOW that city-wide budget cuts could be as high as five percent.

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