So suggested Sealth teacher Delfino Munoz toward the end of tonight’s Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting to update the project status; he was followed by West Seattle’s new school-board rep Steve Sundquist saying the board’s trying to get a legal opinion on whether they do indeed have the power to cancel the plan – if they wanted to. Bottom line, now more than ever is your time to speak out, if you have a strong opinion on the proposal either way; WNC president Steve Fischer provided lots of resources tonight on how to do that. Here’s our detailed report (updated 11:59 pm):
First, some background: The school district is planning to combine the Denny Middle School and Chief Sealth High School campuses, currently about two blocks apart, while rebuilding Denny on the CSHS site and renovating Sealth; this is a nine-digit-price-tag project funded by a levy voters approved earlier this year.
The levy wording, however, did not clearly state that it would result in the middle and high schools sharing a campus, something that no other middle and high schools do anywhere else in the city. And the plan took shape with little if any neighborhood notification, finally culminating in the Westwood Neighborhood Council calling a meeting for late June (our detailed report here), at which details emerged, emotions ran high, and the “it’s a done deal, you’re going to have to live with it” contention from school authorities pervaded all.
A few other meetings ensued over subsequent months (including this one we covered in October). The district promised a comprehensive project website at buildingexcellence.org; it’s not there, and as WNC president Fischer pointed out tonight, there’s just a skeleton page for the project on this Seattle Public Schools website.
So neighbors are still not thrilled with the amount of information they’re getting, or not getting. But information is how tonight’s meeting began; Robert Evans, Denny/Sealth project manager, showed a PowerPoint presentation about where the combined-campus plan stands now. Here are some bullet points (some of it hasn’t changed since previous presentations):
-Denny students will be in their own three-story building (6th grade first floor, 7th grade second, 8th on third), and there will be a play area on the north side
-The kitchen, commons, and health center will serve both schools; in addition, there will be “pathways” for 7th and 8th graders to go into the Sealth building for programs such as music and Career Technical Education
-Denny’s entrance will be off Kenyon
-Sealth’s entrances will get more “curb appeal”
-The portables on the west side of Sealth will be removed for a “cleaner look” and better “pedestrian pathway”
-The Denny seventh-graders’ level of the school will connect to the shared “galleria”
A few other details weren’t discussed until audience questions were taken; there was extra attention to the matter of parking, which had come up at previous meetings — since the new Denny will take up some of Sealth’s current parking area, neighbors are worried about where those cars are going to go.
Before circling back around to the matter of what happens next and can the project be stopped if there is significant community opposition and the school board sees reason to cancel it, attendees talked about what they might like to see done with the Denny site, if indeed the school is torn down and moved. Fischer talked about the grant the council had tried to get for a “holistic” look at how people use the Sealth/Southwest Community Center/Denny area (rejected by the city after the school district pulled its support because, Fischer says, it wouldn’t be in complete control of the process and outcome).
Turning the site into parkland drew the most support; one man in the audience talked about how West Seattle needs a state-of-the-art playground — right now, if he wants the chance for his young child to play on that kind of equipment, he has to drive to Capitol Hill.
After ideas were collected, discussion turned back to Denny-Sealth. Several attendees voiced lingering concerns about a school housing 11-year-olds with 18-year-olds. Sealth teacher Munoz said his colleagues are strongly opposed to the project; someone asked him what about Denny employees, and he said they were under the impression it was a “done deal,” a mistaken impression, in his view, because he believes the school board does have the power to re-evaluate the decision. He asked school district rep Evans how long it would take for the district to assemble other possible options; “till March” was the answer.
Shortly after that, Sundquist jumped in. He is one of four new members on the 7-member school board — that means a majority of those comprising the board now, were not on it when the Denny-Sealth project was approved. He first urged everyone with concerns to attend school board meetings (here’s their calendar) and sign up to speak out. He then noted that the board needs to consult with legal counsel to determine if they really do potentially have the ability to change the course of this project, while also pointing out — as has been said many times before — that time is of the proverbial essence, as construction costs continue to rise. “We’re going to hustle through this process as quickly as we can,” he promised.
Council president Fischer wrapped up the meeting by saying that if a group of people wants to organize a challenge to fight the project, help is vital – the council can’t go it alone. He suggested help will be needed with everything from graphics to traffic-engineering expertise, potentially for testimony at meetings.
And more meetings are ahead for this project, in the meantime; the Westwood Neighborhood Council has committed to a January 14th meeting at Southwest Community Center; district rep Evans said the Chief Sealth PTSA is organizing a January event that will have more of a focus on potential issues and concerns for, and questions from, parents of current and future Sealth/Denny students.
But, it was noted yet again in closing, no meeting is needed for personal action, exactly the kind of action group leaders urged, regardless of where someone stands on the Denny/Sealth project. Here’s our replication of the “action list” handed out at the meeting — with contact info for decisionmakers, and more:
Seattle School Board members’ names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers:
all listed on this page
City of Seattle project #, for tracking permits etc: 3008096 (project page is linked here)
(the list points out that) … the School District will be asking the City for two code departures. These requests are for 1) Building height and 2) Parking.
Write to:
City of Seattle
Department of Planning and Development
700 5th Avenue, Suite 2000
Post Office Box 34019
Seattle, WA 98124-4019
Environmental Review:
Under state law, the School District is allowed to conduct its own Environmental Review (SEPA). This has not been completed, has yet to be submitted to the city, and is appealable.
Information:
Westwood Neighborhood Council
Sealth/Denny project on Seattle Public Schools site
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