BEX/Facilities Master Plan Task Force (Part 1)

Part One of this thread series will cover the Facilities Master Plan TAsk Force.

The district's Facilities Master Plan Task Force is winding up its work this week.  I was very pleased with the make-up of the group which included the very wonky Kellie LaRue and the extraordinary mind that is Meg Diaz in addition to others.

Below are their first recommendations (which do not seem to have changed from what is being presented tomorrow).  Their final recommendations start on page 5 of this document.

To note, I have rarely seen a group in such agreement, given the number of votes that were unanimous.

Here are their overarching recommendations released on August 13th:

  • Recommend negotiations with the City of Seattle to extend Landmark status beyond 25 years for schools, passed 13-0 with one abstention  
  • There is an equity issue that impacts building in the South East, passed 13-0 with one abstention  
  • On a short timeline, we need more community input on the development of a South East interim site, passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • We need an interim site in the South East, passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • Add rough timeline to proposed projects to aid clarity in comparisons to capacity needs, passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • We want transparency in how we handle transitions in the facilities master plan with relation to identifying options and interim site,  passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • Add “as of” date for data and footnotes for major changes (e.g., Magnolia school re-opening, BTA IV funding, and legislative funding, etc.) , passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • From a facilities and equity perspective there should be a professional staff analysis of the South East schools that includes but is not limited to: why students are not attending. passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • Develop a “dashboard” index where it is easy to compare all the schools in one place, showing enrollment and condition status with proposed solutions, passed 13-0
  • In the face of demand, consider adding portables at Options Schools, passed 12-1 
  • In order to be transparent, when replacing a school, the facilities master plan should include a transition narrative for housing students at an interim site, using consistent naming conventions- passed 13-0 with one abstention 
Elementary School Recommendations
  • The rebuilding of Wing Luke will affect Maple and Van Asselt, impacting the Mercer service area in addition to the Aki Kurose Service Area. Add this information to the Mercer and Aki Service area narrative. Passed 11-2 with one abstention.
  • An equity lens using Free and Reduced Lunch status should be applied when considering pre-school placement, passed 12-1 with one abstention 
  • Add E.C. Hughes to the Denny Service Area and change the naming to Roxhill at E.C. Hughes, passed 13-0 with one abstention
Middle School Recommendations
  • Each Middle School service area should have a footnote about which Options or K-8 schools are being included for enrollment and capacity calculations, passed 13-0 with one abstention
  • Consider swapping Catherine Blaine and McClure because of site constraints, in order to add elementary capacity in Queen Anne and increase middle school capacity at McClure, passed 13-0 with one abstention 
  • Cost compare building an addition vs building a new middle school, in the Madison service area, passed 10-3, with one abstention 
High School Recommendations 
  • Renovation or replacement of Rainier Beach High School is a top priority, passed 13-0 with one abstention  
As previously mentioned, since meeting time was not sufficient to allow for completion of the High School and Scoring Criteria recommendations, a survey is being conducted, requesting feedback on the following draft recommendations the FMPTF developed in prior meetings:

Draft High School Recommendations:
  • With a rebuild/renovation of Rainier Beach High School ensure rigorous educational program offerings, add educational program attractions.
  • How should SPS address projected over-capacity of high schools in the North End of the District? 
  • Note the importance of identifying an Elementary and Middle School feeder plan that would support a new Downtown High School. 
  • Note the importance of providing an analysis of private and charter school capture rates and determine if data could inform a new High School.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I want to thank everyone involved in Task Force. I am sure it was very time consuming, and I appreciate all of the hard work.

I have tried to read through the minutes of the Task Force meetings, but something is confusing to me. I live in West Seattle, with two kids in elementary school. One is headed to Madison Middle School next year. Last year, the enrollment projection for Madison was off considerably, enough that Madison lost a teacher. My guess is that Summit Atlas, a new charter school located between Denny and Madison, goofed up the projections. I think Summit Atlas has about 100 kids per grade in grades 6 and 7, and fewer in 9 and 10, with a plan to fill in grades.

The Task Force is recommending that SPS consider an addition or new middle school to increase capacity in the Madison Middle School area. How is the existence of Summit Atlas factoring into the analysis of Madison and Denny? Or can't they consider it, given the unclear status of charter schools? If there is capacity at Denny, would SPS look at a boundary change rather that increasing capacity at Madison? Just curious how all of this is analyzed. Thanks to anyone who answers my questions!

WestSeattleWatcher
Great questions and I'll try to see if I can glean some answers at the Work Session on Boundaries on Wednesday or one of the BEX meetings.
Anonymous said…
Okay, so since I’m not super familiar with the Magnolia/Queen Anne area, swapping Catherine Blaine and McClure... as in, actually trading buildings? This would radically change all the elementary zoning, right? So would all this be done before Mag Elementary opens next year?

-Pragmatic Xennial
Anonymous said…
Pragmatic Xennial, that’s how I read it. I was surprised to see this, since at the summer boundary meeting at Blaine they were talking about the possibility of Magnolia Elementary feeding into both McClure and Blaine since there would be extra 6-8 capacity at Blaine. There was absolutely no mention of a building swap then. My child will start K next year at either Blaine or Magnolia, depending where the boundaries are set, so I’ll be following this closely. It would seem to me that if they do a building swap, Blaine would have to become an elementary rather than a K-8 to make it work... This would mean that all QA/Mag elementary schools would feed into a middle school in Magnolia. I’m not sure how it would work with capacity needs for elementary schoolers in Magnolia, though it would probably be a big help to QA. It would be a huge shakeup in a short time for Magnolia boundaries between the new elementary and the possible building swap. It might be good in the long run if combining Blaine 6-8 with McClure means better class offerings, but who knows.

-Zetetic
Anonymous said…
Hey neighbor! I will also have a kid starting K at Blaine or Magnolia next year. I’ve been reading the blog for years, but didn’t pay as close attention to all of this upheaval as I should have, I guess, since I wasn’t living in the neighborhood then. Guess it’s a good thing I haven’t had time to get too attached to the idea of Blaine...

-Pragmatic Xennial
Anonymous said…
It does not make much sense to swap Blaine and McClure. With the opening of Magnolia Elementary, Blaine would have more room for grades 6-8. It's very disruptive to the community. And it's very costly to retrofit both buildings to accommodate new programs, especially the McClure building.

SSCF reader
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