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Clerk 03/25/2025

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AN ORDINANCE authorizing the county executive to renew an interlocal agreement between King County and the cities of Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, and SeaTac for stormwater education in the Highline Public School District.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

1.  In 2018, the city of Burien received a Washington state Department of Ecology grant for the purpose of implementing an annual outdoor, interactive stormwater education program called StormFest for all Highline Public School District sixth grade students.  StormFest partners have annually hosted the event, including adaptions during COVID-19 restrictions.

2.  City and partner staff host the three-day events in June.  The events include a volunteer and interpreter training day, followed by the main three-day event a week later.  The curriculum is adapted to accommodate students’ language, physical, and intellectual needs, featuring bilingual education stations, a beach-accessible wheelchair, transportation support, and special education accommodations.

3.  Since 2018, the event has engaged approximately nine thousand five hundred sixth-grade students, including seventh graders who missed the event due to COVID-19 restrictions, along with dozens of community members, interpreters, and professional staff.

4.  The StormFest program for sixth graders of the Highline School District helps the cities of Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, and SeaTac, as well as unincorporated King County, meet National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit requirements for education and outreach.  The program also supports the development of programs and opportunities for public participation, including engagement with overburdened communities.

5.  In 2025, the Highline Public Schools District serves over eighteen thousand students, thirty-eight percent are English language learners, sixteen percent are students with disabilities, and sixty percent eligible for the school lunch program.  Sixth grade is a key developmental period for students to engage with STEM, which means science, technology, engineering, and math, professionals and activities that motivate, model, inspire, and trigger interest in those fields.

6.  The first StormFest interlocal agreement was authorized by Ordinance 19059 and approved on March 3, 2020, for the years 2020 through 2024.  The new interlocal agreement will begin in 2025 and expire in 2029, unless amended by the parties.  Partner contributions are assessed annually based on the percentage of students from their respective jurisdictions, which King County's support is determined by the percentage of students from unincorporated areas.

7.  Post-event surveys of students, teachers, and community volunteers consistently express appreciation for the outdoor event, particularly the hands-on interactions with freshwater invertebrates as water quality indicators and the increased understanding of clean water actions.

                     BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:

                     SECTION 1.  The county executive is authorized to execute an agreement, substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, with the cities of Burien, Des

Moines, Normandy Park, and SeaTac for stormwater education in the Highline Public School District.