Banda/Murray/Bailey - the holy trinity of stupidity and incompetence.

@1: Why, because there's unlimited capacity in great schools within a reasonable traveling distance of where everyone lives?

Wait, the Seattle public school system is fucking up again? Shocking.

Just to be clear. It is not a construction or remodeling project that would be occuring around students.

It would be a demolition. WP contains both asbestos and lead.

Spock put it best:
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few

What additional licensing requirements does NW Center need for the Van Asselt building? Herndon said that by Julyl 2014 the Van Asselt building will be ready for pre-school and it will be ADA compliant. And I think with pre-school and day-care's that are moving it is more of paperwork to be filed to update the license with a new address. Also, I heard that the City will be more than happy to help with permits and licensing where they can.

The requirements are set by the state Department of Early Learning. It's not just ADA a preschool needs to comply with. Health and safety for young children require structural changes including little toilets and changing tables, safe play areas and equipment, etc. If you check with the state they will confirm that it takes 6 months to get through the approval process. The city has little to say about state licensing. What you say may make sense to the naive observer, but if you have ever seen the state's regulations and tried to comply with them, you would be able to comment on what is truly required. I think just guessing about the reality of the situation is harmful to everyone concerned.

Preschool is very different from elementary school. Infants and toddlers do not sit at little desks. Elementary students do not wear diapers. Five year olds have very different needs from infants and toddlers. I think you don't have children???.......

We were in a co-op preschool. It wasn't that different. In fact we were in a portable at a school. Yes, toilets (ours weren't tiny, actually) and we didn't have changing tables. But we did have many changing mats, sprays, clothes, towels and gloves. We had to follow special rules for fluids. But it was doable. And the kids were in diapers, and when they were older, they weren't but they had a lot of accidents that we had to clean up after appropriately.

I think co-ops are exempt from many rules. The rules are very different for programs where children come for four hours daily.

This story is illustrative of many of the consequences of Seattle Public Schools' dysfunction.

The District has complelely bolluxed their long-term capacity planning. They closed schools and sold buildings even as the tide of students was rising. They squandered money moving students around, only to have to spend tens (if not hundreds) of millions to put things back as they were. The District is spending well over $100 million to close Meany Middle School, close the Mann Building, close Old Hay, move all of the Meany students to Washington, renovate Meany as a split high school, move the NOVA students to Meany, move the SBOC students to Meany, renovate Old Hay as Queen Anne Elementary, then renovate Mann, move the NOVA students back to Mann, renovate T T Minor as a secondary school, move all of the SBOC students to T T Minor, renovate Meany as a middle school, and move middle school students back to Meany from Washington. When the music stops, NOVA and Meany are right back where they started, the SBOC has been hopscotched around, one elementary school has been opened (Queen Anne), and another elementary school has been closed ( TT Minor), for a net change of zero - and over $100 million spent.

The District has grossly mismanged their building maintenance. The District's construction backlog exceeds $500 million due to deferred repairs. And it just gets worse. The District cuts from property maintenance, an operating expense. Then things get so bad that they need major renovations, which can get paid out of the capital budget. This might make sense as an accounting trick but it means that students and staff are working in delapidated buildings with crumbling walls, flooding, leaking roofs, toxic water, and worse.

They bollux the capital projects, too. Projects are selected for political reasons rather than real need. Costs run WAY over budget, so that not all of the planned projects can be done. Capital money was spent in foolish ways for fancy things, which means that other schools can't even have plain things. Go see Cleveland; it's gorgeous. Despite all of the expense of rebuilding schools, they didn't significantly increase the buildings' capacity.

Even with the huge BEX IV levy and construction plans - the fourth in a series of large scale construction plans - they cannot create all of the capacity they need. That's partly because they sold properties that they should have kept, so they could be renovated and used as schools (Allen building, University Heights building, Queen Anne High, MLK building). They have leased spaces that they could use as schools (Webster building, Oak Tree, Jefferson), and they rebuilt schools too small to hold all of the students that need space (Hamilton, Stevens, McDonald, Sand Point, Hale, Roosevelt, Sealth).

Seattle Public Schools is one of the largest land owners in the state. They own over a hundred school properties, many of which are worth millions of dollars. What do you think is the value of the property at Lowell on Capital Hill, Catherine Blaine on Magnolia, or View Ridge in Wedgwood? Even the little schools occupy half a city block. They own the land under two shopping malls. They own the Cleveland Memorial Forest. But who, if anyone, would want the District's property managers to manage their real estate portfolio? No one. They are among the worst property managers you have ever seen. EVER.

Look at the business that comes before the School Board. Look at the motions that they vote on. Year in and year out, about 40% of the votes are about property management. They are about putting jobs up for bid, approving contracts for work on buildings, approving work that's been done, planning capacity, and making decisions about what schools and programs are in what buildings. This is the bulk of their work. This is the work that has the majority of their attention, and THEY ARE FUCKING IT UP.

The School District's primary mission is education, but their primary business is property management and they totally suck at it. This work needs to be taken out of their hands. They should outsource all of their property management and do it immediately. The best solution would be for them to lease all of their property to the City for a dollar and then lease it all back from the City - with services - for a dollar. Not only would this free up tens of millions of dollars of the District's budget that could be spent in classrooms, it would significantly improve the management of the District's real estate. All of the work - capacity management, capital projects, building maintenance, everything to do with real estate - should be delegated out of the District's control.

As for the current crisis (there have been others, there will be even more) the solution is for someone - the City could be a big help here - to find another suitable site for the CPPP and lease it to the District until such time as the District can buy it.

The District needs to find more school sites, especially in the north end of the city and in the central area. The City should become a partner with the District in finding spaces for schools. The City plans for density but doesn't plan for schools to serve all of the families they are bringing in. They should be looking at the land that will come available when the City lids the reservoir at NE 75th and 12th NE. They should be looking for space in the renovated Yesler Terrace. They should be looking for school space downtown. They should be looking for school space anywher the City is working to increase residential density. The City can assess impact fees to help pay the capital costs, and that's what they should be doing.

As bad as the District's central administration is, and they are HORRIBLE - not just the property management, all of it - the schools are actually pretty good. The schools, unlike the central administration, are staffed by caring, competent, dedicated professionals. There is a great gap between the headquarters and the schools - a gap that is, itself, a dysfunction, but one that serves the schools and the students since it insulates them from the administration's damage.

For example - consider how much the families of the Cascade Parent Partnership Program love it and swear by it. This excellence was achieved without any help or support (or interference) from the District.

Every school in the District works to fly under the radar of the central administration. Nearly all of them are sucessful. What does that tell you?

The 'bandaid' proposed by SPS, to house CPPP on site during demolition in order to give NWCK an additional 6 months would cost up to $500k according to SPS. This 'bandaid' is unacceptable. Why should tax payers be covering a daycare's request to stay longer at a site after a termination clause in the lease they signed has been enforced?

While it's lovely to imagine 'better' homes for CPPP, please remember families at the school advocated for the NQA site as a good fit for their program. A growing school of currently 183 students is asking for a site that has at one time had 300 enrolled students. In addition our families use spaces differently than traditional schools and can stretch enrollment well beyond that 300 comfortably so long as spaces such as a gym, outdoor play areas, and rooms where families waiting for their children to finish class are provided.

The academic needs of NWCK special needs students are the responsibility of SPS ... if those families choose public school over private. I understand that there is a partnership between SPS and some of the special needs students at NWCK and and respect that. But daycare? Private preschool? These are not the responsibilities of SPS, that is a family's choice.

With regards to Van Asselt, lets hold SPS to their promise. Let them do what they said they can do, prepare it for a pre-k site for NWCK by July 1. What is the point in saying they can't do it? Lets tell SPS we expect them to provide NWCK with an acceptable site because they said they can do it. Why are we criticizing SPS for saying they CAN provide an alternate space for NWCK. An alternate space that would prevent SPS from misusing funds to house CPPP in an interim site so that NWCK have more time before an inevitable move.

I'm glad to hear Van Asselt is being saved. I love that building. Very sleek and mid-century.

As for SPS and school buildings, I once had a rather tedious exchange with a person who claimed to be an "educator" (you know it's going to be an eye roller when they choose "educator" instead of "teacher"). I was expressing regret that they were demolishing Genesee Hill Elementary, because I thought it was a handsome building (and the new schools all look like something designed by a simple-minded third grader) and was informed that it is "impossible" to educate students in a building "that old".

By that logic, of course, Garfield and Franklin should have been demolished, along with almost all of the UW campus. I fully realize that buildings need renovated, updated, etc, but I do think they are too quick to tear buildings down, and that the buildings they replace them with are clownish looking.

Yeah, I've been reading about this, and it's clear that the district (and in my view, NWC) screwed up badly. But now that they have, we can't go back and un-screw up. Time only flows forward, so the question is: what to do? Seems like all I see is people wringing their hands and saying "this shouldn't have happened" -- well, agreed, but so the fuck what? WHAT DO WE DO NOW? That's the only question that needs answering in the short term.

In the long term, of course, there are other questions, like, how can we get the district to plan better for changing student populations? How can we avoid this kind of clusterfuck in the future?

The first step to un-fucking this situation is to get the School District out of the property management business.

I think that Wallingford center is charming too and that was an old school house. Personally I like the older buildings.

WP is really nasty though. It's currently a health hazard and will be even more of a health hazard during the demo.

But the way it was built really takes advantage of window placement to let in a lot of natural light, which I really value.

Good news, 'I should really get a Stranger account' SPS is building Cascade a gym at NQA. I heard rumors it may take a few more years (not happy about that). But then again, some families at a daycare on Queen Anne supported legislation that was just passed rescinding 10 million dollars that was intended to make NQA into a nice facility for the Cascade community. SPS will stick by Cascade and fund our move but I can't help but wonder about the correlation between lost funding and our wait for a much needed gym.

Seattle Public Schools prepared for the students enrolled at Cascade ... what they didn't do is prepare for a daycare and private preschool ... wait, wouldn't it be upsetting if our tax dollars paid for our public school district to spend time arranging a site and licensing for a private daycare/preschool?

Exactly SPSparent1.

There was funding for the gym to be built. But then politics came into play and the funding supporting the kids at Cascade was pulled.

Now, once parties succeeded at pulling that funding away, the argument is made "Oh, but that won't work for you, QA doesn't have a gym".

That is pretty dirty game playing with my kid's health and well being.

My disabled kid, I might add.

Angry. Yes, but I am trying to control myself.

And the reality is, maybe there isn't a gym on site - right now. But with the property, we can make it work. The kids can still get physical exercise on that site. And outdoor time. And not breathe lead and asbestos.

It doesn't HAVE to be a gym for my family. My uncle was able to regulate his ADD by running around the house 4 times. So maybe we'll have to come up with something similar.

But I am still hoping that the regulators will realize they have been misled and reinstate the funding.

Good overview in the story.
The district's "answer" to the situation is unacceptable (and believe me, they would NEVER try to float this with any other school group with a straight face).

I concur - as a longt-time district watcher and activist - with Charlie Mas - the district does NOT, now or in the past, know what they are doing with their facitilities. It's just ridiculous AND costing taxpayers money.

NWC should stay in place and the Cascade be found a new - healthy and safe - home. I know that the CIty has offered helped via their own real estate person and yet the distirct seems to be ignoring that help. Somehow some pridefullness has crept in and they seem to want to solve this one on their own.

Bad idea.

NOT you "no Stranger account".

Whoever went and gave Carlyle the misinformation removing Cascade's funding.

Now that that funding has been removed - anybody who reads about this subject will make that same statement.

I apologize for not speaking clearly enough.

Westello -

Why should NWC stay in place and Cascade, the public school with the public school students have to go out and find another place yet again? The other places are full. The families at Cascade have been asking for space for the past two years. I trust that the principal and the parent leaders have done due diligence.

The students at Cascade Parent Partnership Program are being offered a dangerous and poisonous situation so that a private school will have an additional 6 months, and 6 months isn't even enough time to fulfill NWC's time needs. Then where will CPPP move to AGAIN?


The leadership at NWC is very clear that it needs 2 years to go through the process and move into new space.

According to previous statements, the official lease is up in 2015. I am going to be very generous and assume it is up on Dec 31st 2015.

I listen to the radio, I knew a year ago that population problems were coming down the pike and I'm just an Average Joe.

That lease was not going to be renewed. The NWC offered to buy the property and it was turned down.

Even in the best case scenario, the clock started 2 years before the lease ended (last December by my generous clock). So NWC is going to have to relocate. They were clear that they needed two years to find a place, and it is already too late for that.

Why shouldn't the private school go to the other location (that is safe, if inconvenient) and allow the public school students to move onto public school property? Then NWC will have plenty of time to not just find space, but find the right space for them, without pressure.

Why are we choosing the private school over the public school? Both communities have challenges and disabilities. Both student populations are fragile.

I think in the long run, NWC would be better off moving to VA for the shorter term while they find a building they want to purchase to build a secure future. Maybe, since there is such a hullabaloo, NWC could even ask for a super low rent and allocate the savings towards the new building!

For the record, that lease at Queen Anne to NWCenter has been renewed 6 times for 5 years -- why would they think 2015 was any different?
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read this if you (d)(c)are.