(WSB photos/video)

More than 150 Chief Sealth International High School students walked off the campus just before noon today in a protest demanding action against sexual harassment and violence.

Staffers joined them in support.

As reported here last night, this was sparked by text messages described as “graphic … group text messages” that “encourage sexual violence.” The students involved were reported to be football players; the principal’s message only alluded to “athletic” involvement

After walking out, students gathered on the Southwest Athletic Complex field across the street. School officials would not allow media crews into the stadium to hear the speeches (which were inaudible from the street because of a TV chopper hovering overhead).

The student who sent word last night about today’s rally said this has been an ongoing situation without much action from school administrators. We asked principal Ray Morales today if anyone had been suspended and he said he could not comment. We asked the district media office the same question, and others, and received only a statement similar to what the principal sent to the school community Thursday; this one was attributed to district chief of staff Bev Redmond:

SPS takes the safety and wellbeing of students very seriously. We respect student voices and listen to our students’ concerns. SPS condemns any form of sexual abuse, assault, and violence, and we are dedicated to providing a nurturing and safe educational environment for all students.

On Wednesday, Oct. 18, concerns were brought to the attention of Chief Sealth International school leaders. The concerns were related to group text messages written by several Chief Sealth students. The content was graphic and extremely inappropriate. Chief Sealth International staff and SPS leaders do not condone this type of communication in any format.

Chief Sealth International school leaders took immediate action, including:
-SPS and Chief Sealth International leadership will continue to evaluate appropriate discipline and corrective action
-Outreach by school social workers and school leaders to offer direct support to each student who was the subject of these messages

The school’s leadership is actively taking steps to be sure students approach their peers and community members with respect. This includes a plan by athletic leaders to promote gender equity, prevent sexual harassment, and help our students better understand what behaviors are expected of students and student athletes.

The district did not answer our question about whether police had been contacted.

(WSB photo, Alki Elementary demolition site in August)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

ORIGINAL 12:08 PM REPORT: More than two months after the old Alki Elementary was demolished, the rebuild/expansion project remains on hold because of what’s become a court fight. A short hearing in the case was held this morning.

First, the backstory: Seattle Public Schools needed nine zoning exceptions – “departures” – to get approval for its plan to build a bigger, taller school on the site. The city Department of Construction and Inspections granted the nine departures. Four Alki residents appealed the decision. After a subsequent daylong hearing, a city hearing examiner upheld the city decision on all but one departure – the one that would allow the school to be built without off-street parking; current zoning would otherwise require 48 spaces. The examiner’s ruling sent the parking issue back to the city for “further consideration.” The district could have opted to work on that issue with the city but instead decided to file a court challenge to the decision. That challenge is set for a full hearing in January, but the city filed a motion to dismiss it, and that’s what was heard today in an online hearing before King County Superior Court Judge Wyman Yip. We monitored the hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes.

The case is not a lawsuit per se, but rather, a land-use petition. Lawyer Liza Anderson, representing the city, contends the district’s challenge should be dismissed because the hearing examiner’s ruling was not a final land-use decision – it simply sent the parking issue back to city planners to work with the district, Lawyer Katie Kendall, representing the district, contends the hearing examiner’s ruling is indeed a final decision, because if SPS, for example, found a way to provide parking in or near the project, it could get its permits without further proceedings,

Judge Yip had no questions, and said he’d already read the documents filed by both sides. He told the lawyers – who also included counsel for the residents who filed the appeal, though she did not speak – that he expected to file a written decision on the dismissal motion by Monday. (We’ll be watching the case file.) If he doesn’t grant the motion to dismiss the case, it will proceed toward a hearing set for late January. Alki Elementary, meantime, is holding classes at the former Schmitz Park Elementary, which it was expecting to do for two years even if construction of the new school had started this summer as originally planned.

5:35 PM: Just got word that the judge has already made his decision, and he has dismissed the district’s case, agreeing with the city that the hearing examiner’s ruling granting the appeal of the no-parking decision was not a final land-use decision, so this manner of challenge was not appropriate. Here’s how the ruling ends:

Having reviewed the pleadings, the Examiner’s August 10, 2023 written decision, and the
authority cited by counsel, this Court finds that the Examiner’s decision was not a final
determination under LUPA. The Examiner found that “more attention to parking impacts within this
highly constrained and unique setting is needed” and that the decision is “returned to the
Department” for proceedings consistent with the decision. This was not a denial of the requested
parking departure. It was a remand for more/better information before a more informed decision can
be made.

Based on the foregoing, pursuant to Civil Rule (“CR”) 12(b)(1) the Court ORDERS that:
1. Respondent Seattle’s Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED; and
2. Petitioner Seattle School District’s Land Use Petition Act Petition is dismissed.

This does NOT necessarily mean the district has to provide the required parking – it does mean that the city and the district have to work on the issue, as the hearing-examiner ruling ordered. We’ll be seeking comment on Monday.