Seattle Schools Community Forum

Its status, according to the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board on October 5th, is just the memorial wall. From KIRO news radio (all bold mine): “We’re looking at solely the memorial wall and its associated structures that support just the memorial wall and a 20 feet boundary of the site with not including structures on that site,” Ian McCleod, member of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, said. So I assume the City and the district will proceed. I am dismayed that it does not appear that the Board has formally asked the Superintendent to have public meetings about the design of the new stadium. On October 4th, the Board had talked about landmarking the entire structure. From Feliks Banel's piece on KIRO news radio: As KIRO Newsradio previously reported, Memorial Stadium was discussed at an earlier meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Board in August, when board members voted 8-1 to consider the entire 1947 structure – and not just the 1951 wall of names of Seattle Public Sc...

There appears to be a disconnect between what the district is saying to the City about Memorial Stadium and what they are telling voters (likely to get them to vote for the BTA V levy). I don't think the district is being entirely honest and upfront about the situation to voters.  I thought of this as I listened to the BTA V forum sponsored by Horizon House, a senior housing group. At that forum, I asked about Memorial Stadium and JoLynn Berge, head of Budget, said that the Stadium is "just for us." As she was speaking for the district, I'm pretty sure she meant the district.  At the district website on BTA V, here's what the district says: Memorial Stadium Repair and Renovation.       $66,537,000 Plus under  Service School & Administrative Building Systems Repair & Replacement Projects there is: Memorial Stadium Plumbing.                              $1,350,041 Plus under...

Update: The Seattle Times had yet another story on Memorial Stadium on the heels of the first one. I find that quite odd but this one seems quite the cheerleading article.  The global sports and entertainment company behind the recent development of Seattle Center’s Climate Pledge Arena, Oak View Group, plans to reply to a request for proposals, or RFP, released Monday by Seattle Public Schools and City Hall. Soccer luminaries are paying attention to the project, as well. To note, that link that looks like it would go to the RFP? It goes to their original story. Here's the link . I would say this looks like a very short timeline for all the work involved. Almost like the City and the district already have a group in mind. At the same time, school and city leaders say student-related activities would retain scheduling priority at a new Memorial Stadium throughout the school year. They say using a public-private partnership to redevelop and care for Memorial Stadium could yiel...

According to an article in the Seattle Times, the deal between Seattle Public Schools and the City of Seattle over the Memorial Stadium acreage is just about done. I am honestly quite surprised as I thought the public would at least be given more than one option to consider and time to consider it. And, since this is a very busy time of year, it is quite convenient for both the City and the district to push this through without a lot of notice or question. (The article states that Ron English, the district lead on this one, OMG, says that the MOU is out there for all to see. Where?) There are two main issues to this problem. One, the district is in the driver's seat. They should NOT be greedy but considering their past issues with land usage and retention, they should proceed carefully and get the best deal possible. The citizens of Seattle are not the district's first priority - the students of SPS are. Two, how do we honor our war dead? That wall's purpose (and it's...

There is a story at KING 5 News announcing that Mayor Jenny Durkan and Superintendent Brent Jones have signed an letter of intent to move ahead on revamping Memorial Stadium. And, this would be tied to the passage of BTA V next February 2022. It would also be tied to a possible school on top of where the Battery Street tunnel was (and that's whole other post). KING 5 gets the amount on BTA V wrong - the $66.55M is just for renovating Memorial Stadium; the overall ask for the entire levy is $765M. Yet another issue is the revamping of Seattle Center and the future of The Center School. The City has said the planning would include The Center School but with a renovation may come more leasing costs to the district. So we have two lame duck leaders making a huge decision that affects a key area of the city.  I'll pause here to say this one thing in four words - Queen Anne High School. The high school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and was an of...

Below is the one-pager on this ongoing process of developing an MOU between SPS and the City of Seattle per today's Operation Committee meeting. It does have some important and revealing thoughts. Memorial Stadium Seattle Public Schools and City of Seattle Status of Planning for SPS School Board Operations Committee March 17, 2022     Overview. With voter approval of the BTA V levy renewal, the district and the City of Seattle are exploring the potential to partner on a new Memorial Stadium, consistent with and informed by a 2017 partnership agreement between the district and the City. 2017 Partnership Agreement. In 2017, the City and the school district entered into a partnership agreement that envisioned collaborating around development of three potential projects: - a new Memorial Stadium; - district acquisition of land parcels as part of the Ft. Lawton Redevelopment Plan; and - siting new school facilities, including potentially an elementary school downtown. The 2017 agr...

There is yet ANOTHER Seattle Times' story on Memorial Stadium. It feels very much like full-speed ahead and I have to wonder what the hurry is. Here's the "new" news: The City and the district saw "artistic renderings" LAST YEAR by a company called Populous. But both the City and district reps say, "nothing is set in stone." This "vision and feasibility study" cost $127,000 but it's not clear who paid for it.  It didn’t hurt that Populous, a global expert in stadium architecture, designed the recent renovation of Seattle Center’s KeyArena, which reopened as Climate Pledge Arena in 2021. Climate Pledge Arena’s developer and operator, Oak View Group, is expected to submit a Memorial Stadium proposal. The result , which Populous presented to civic leaders in June 2022, showed a 9,400-seat stadium with room for 1,000 more spectators in premium boxes. With a rough, estimated price tag of $200 million to $250 million, the concept i...

Update 3-15: this article appeared in today's PI about the presentation about Seattle Center and Memorial Stadium to the Board by the Seattle Center director. From the article: "The unveiling this week of a $676 million proposal to overhaul Seattle Center was met by ambivalence from the Seattle School Board, which holds the deed to Memorial Stadium, the venerable facility that would be replaced by an outdoor amphitheater and sports field under the proposed redesign." Who uses it? "The stadium has served as the home field for many of the district's high schools over the past six decades. The district's 4A schools -- Ballard, Franklin, Garfield and Roosevelt -- are the primary tenants (Cleveland, which is 3A, also uses the facility). District reaction: "Ron English, the district's general counsel and property manager, said the board had yet to reach a decision about the redesign. He said Nellams' proposal was vague and short on specifics. English ...

The Agreement is eight pages long.  It is not legally binding but appears to be a good faith measure for both the City and the District going forward. I suspect this is a big deal on all sides, not just because it means a renovation of Memorial Stadium but because it is at Seattle Center, a marquee part of the city.  I think for some it might be a feather in their cap to be involved and that kind of feeling can usually mean some jockeying for position. Page One 

A story in the Times caught my eye about a young man earning his Eagle Scout recognition, Peter Gockowski, who wanted to clean up the wall of honor at Memorial Stadium.

From SPS: It’s graduation week and with it come a few transportation logistics we want to make sure you’re aware of in advance.

Robert Jamieson's column in the PI this morning was about what the City and the district plan to do with Memorial Stadium. I had to laugh because it's true; if the Denny's in Ballard can be a historic landmark, anything can. Jamieson does lay out the facts: the stadium is over 25 years old, has historic significance (was built for WWII war dead), easily identifiable features. What might replace it? "Planners for Seattle Center are salivating over the possibility of turning the stadium footprint into a giant parking venue or amphitheater." His take: "The people shaping the future of Seattle Center are arrogant. They seemingly care little that the stadium -- like Seattle Center -- sits on land bequeathed to the city and dedicated in historical documents for "use of the public forever." They seem dismissive that the site is owned by the school district. The land was deeded by the city to the district in 1946 for $1 with a stipulation -- the sit...

Thursday, October 20th Operations Committee Meeting from 4:30-6:30 pm at JSCEE.  No agenda yet available. Again, I see that last Saturday, October 15th, there were four community meetings with directors and yet this week there are none.  It continues to puzzle me that the directors cannot try to space out meetings so that there is at least one per weekend.  To note: the Mayor and the Superintendent met to try to talk about a new high school at Seattle Center as the City thinks about revamping that area. 

 The two issues I am speaking of are: - the renovation of Rainier Beach High School - the renovation of Memorial Stadium Superintendent Brent Jones has been here to see these projects in their earliest beginnings. But will he be here when either project is done? In normal times, I'd say yes. But there are two issues that might see him beat a quick exit.  One is that, oddly, when Jones was offered the permanent superintendent job, he opted for a two-year contract, not three which is the usual. Why he did that is a mystery but my thought is to make it easier to jump ship if he got offered something better. Two, Jones is gonna feel a LOT of heat soon from parents and school communities. Because yet another project that will start under his term is closure and consolidation of school communities. The district's Budget review document shows that they expect to gain $28M from closing buildings. It seems like they will focus mostly on elementaries but I suspect with their complete la...

From The Slog, news that Memorial Stadium will be used all three-days of Bumbershoot.  Here's hoping between allowing a women's soccer team, Reign FC,  to use the field and Bumbershoot, it's a shot of money that can be used to update that stadium.  Seattle's annual Labor Day arts festival Bumbershoot is moving its Mainstage from KeyArena to Memorial Stadium. Key had served that function for the last three years. Memorial Stadium's comeback comes with a new configuration.

The Times has an article this morning about the City and the School Board making planning to tear down Memorial Stadium. This is wrong on several counts. First, to make clear the Seattle School District owns, outright, Memorial Stadium and the 9 prime acres of real estate it sits on. This is a very important piece of real estate if only because of the Memorial Wall. It is dedicated to those 700 Seattle high school students who went away to fight in WWII and did not come back. Some of their bodies were never found so that wall means a lot to their families. Moving away from the stadium really defeats the purpose. Now, has the district taken care of the wall properly? No. Have they really taken pains to make sure the athletes who use the stadium understand who came before them? No. They certainly can do better. Don't move the wall for design purposes. It is the home field for both football and soccer for at least 4 of the high schools and is used for graduations. I rec...

This event happened today at Memorial Stadium.  (I would have been there but my invite got lost.)  Representing SPS at the event was Vice-President Leslie Harris and Mayor Tim Burgess.  To understand, the MOU is not legally binding and, going forward, the public will be part of the process about deciding what happens to Memorial Stadium.  This is a measure to get the discussion going. To note, the district MUST keep this stadium because it serves as the home field for several high schools for football and soccer as well as hosting graduations.  The district has no other place for these events.  As to whether the stadium stays there, well, that's a good question to discuss.   I have not yet seen the MOU (I believe it will be released tomorrow).  My understanding is that the district will keep 6 of the 9 acres it controls at Seattle Center AND the district will be part of the Fort Lawton EIS.  I am so happy on the latter because it simp...

It is always my intention to learn so I read whatever is handy.  So I was in a business office this past week and there was the Puget Sound Business Journal (which I don't regularly read).   So I'm reading this article about how the EMP wants a break on its rent.  (Apparently Paul Allen might not subsidize it forever.)  EMP agreed with the City that there would be rent increases every five years from the time it opened in 2000.  But now EMP is saying they are a non-profit (albeit fronted by one of the wealthiest men in the world) and they say they do lots of "cultural education" to local schoolchildren.  It is also mentioned in the artilce that EMP has an exclusive liquor license that means no new potential restaurants or bars at Seattle Center can serve liquor.  (Talk about a benefit.)  So the City did offer them a rent break in exchange for giving up that exclusivity but EMP said no.   (To which I would say, then sink or swim...

Looking at the Board calendar, I see that someone in the City is coming to give a presentation to the Board on Memorial Stadium at 4 p.m on Wednesday (before the Board meeting at 6). I'm assuming this is just a general "here's what we have, here's what we could do, we need input". The Seattle Times also had a front page article on the entire Seattle Center on Sunday complete with a "draw your own Seattle Center" blueprint. Both the Center House (which houses the Center School) and Memorial Stadium are key issues for SPS. While I have heard plenty of talk around Memorial Stadium, I haven't heard a peep about what might happen to Center School. I've asked Board Directors in the past and they just shrug so it makes me wonder if the District is pushing to keep Center School there or what.

Here's a very comprehensive look at the situation over in Magnolia at Fort Lawton as written by Outside City Hall's George Howland, Jr. It comes down to this: Twenty-eight acres of surplus federal property should be a great opportunity for Seattle. Instead, it shows signs of becoming a terrible civic imbroglio. I fear that the interests of homeless people will be lost in the melee. The feds have also designated the city of Seattle as the Local Redevelopment Authority for the site. The city can have the land for free provided it be used for public purposes like housing, a school or a park. So again, like the situation with the former Federal Reserve building in downtown, the feds are offering this land first for public uses.  There are three things that could be done: