By Johnson, on April 10th, 2013
 As you may recall, last month we posted a summary of a meeting we had with Ms. Pegi McEvoy and others with the Seattle Public School District about the process for design and construction of the new NE Seattle K-5 School. The new NE Seattle K-5 school is being constructed following the overwhelming approval of Proposition 2 by Seattle voters in November 2012. While the 650 student school had originally been proposed for construction on the Thornton Creek Elementary site, local opposition from neighbors opposed to the loss of open space at the school successfully lobbied the District to modify the language within the BEX IV levy program to the following:
Northeast Seattle elementary school: To meet growing capacity, add K-5 school on Thornton Creek site by 2016 or equivalent additional seating capacity at another location.
Due to this modified language and an agreement to complete a review of additional, potential sites or options provided by the community. At last month’s School Board meeting, District staff committed to presenting the results of their review to the Superintendent on Monday, April 1st. On Tuesday, April 2nd, the District published the results of their Capital Projects and Planning website and summarized their new recommendation to the School Board. Our summary of this revised recommendation is provided below. However, to understand this revised recommendation, it may be helpful to provide a brief history of this particular new K-5 school (so far as we’re aware).
Brief History
In June 2012 I met with a member of the Thornton Creek Site Council who explained from their perspective how the District arrived at their recommendation to build at new 650-student K-5 (at that time a K-8) school on the Thornton Creek site. It was explained to me that in response to larger enrollment and District capacity management planning, the District wanted to bring in 4 new portables over a 4 year period and expand the enrollment of Thornton Creek Elementary school. Thornton Creek staff and parents thought that this proposal would hurt their program. After some public meetings, the District countered with a request that the school expands their geo-zone (e.g., where students are preferentially chosen from). The intent was to have Thornton Creek Elementary accept more students from the attendance areas of Wedgwood, Bryant, and View Ridge elementary schools. Also, new portables would also be added at Wedgwood, View Ridge, and Olympic View elementary schools. By December 2011, Ms. McEvoy asked Thornton Creek staff and its Site Council if it would be willing to become a K-8 school to also alleviate capacity needs at Eckstein Middle School. In response, the Thornton Creek Site Council said that it would grow up to 500 students if the District built them a new building on their site. The District never responded to the Site Council’s counter offer. Instead, the District proposed a new 650-student K-8 attendance area school within its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which has since been revised to a new K-5 school. Thornton Creek Elementary, an option school, would have remained in its existing building at the site.
Revised Recommendation
 As we understand it, the District’s revised recommendation is essentially to build the new 650 student NE Seattle K-5 School at the Thornton Creek School site and then move the Thornton Creek Elementary program into the new school. If capacity forecasts remain the same, the plan will likely include demolishing the existing the existing Decatur building once the new school was built. It’s important to understand that this is only a recommendation at this point and no decisions have been formally made (to our knowledge).
Upon learning of this revised recommendation, we sent the following questions to the Ms. McEvoy and others at the District to clarify their new recommendation. Below are our questions and District responses.
Q1: Why did it take the District this long to acknowledge the Thornton Creek Parent’s Group’s offer to accept Ms.McEvoy’s counter offer, if that is what this recommendation is?
A1: Annually, the District receives updated resident enrollment projections in February. In order to ensure that the most current information was used for this important decision, the District decided to wait to make recommendations about the NE school configurations. Additionally, the School Board had asked for additional feasibility studies on which to base their decisions. These became available in late March.
Q2: My presumption that the District did not move forward with this counter offer was that it ultimately did not provide the capacity needs that we’ve heard about throughout NE Seattle, which was required to alleviate overcrowding at Wedgwood, View Ridge, and Bryant Elementary Schools. Does this proposal meet the District’s goals for meeting the forecasted capacity requirements in the Eckstein Service Area? If not, are there other capital improvements expected to be required during subsequent BEX levies?
A2: Per the BEX IV levy, four schools will impact positively the permanent capacity for the NE region, including Thornton Creek, Olympic Hills, Jane Addams K-8 at Pinehurst and the remodeled Cedar Park. With the subsequent boundary changes due to new schools being opened, the District believes that it can meet the projected capacity needs in the NE Seattle area.
Q3: Should this proposal be accepted by the Board, should we presume that Thornton Creek Elementary would become an attendance area school or remain an alternative school? Would Thornton Creek Elementary also become a K-8 program, as it was suggested last year (per my understanding)?
A3: At this time, it is recommended that the Thornton Creek Elementary program remain an option K-5 school although its geo-zone may be updated during the future student assignment plan updates to help alleviate over-enrollment at nearby elementary schools.
Q4: Within the BEX IV levy program, approved under Proposition 2, the project that voters approved is described as follows:
“Northeast Seattle elementary school: To meet growing capacity, add K-5 school on Thornton Creek site by 2016 or equivalent additional seating capacity at another location.” Does the District’s revised recommendation provide “equivalent additional seating capacity” at another location or otherwise? Is so, great. If not, would this recommendation meet the intent of Proposition 2?
A4: With the combined additional seat capacity for the four schools in the Eckstein service area, the revised recommendation would provide sufficient capacity to meet the current resident projections.
We weren’t the only ones caught off guard by this curve-ball-of-a-recommendation. You can watch the School Board meeting from the evening of Wednesday, April 3rd, when many of the School Board members were just hearing this revised recommendation for the first time as part of Agenda Item 11, which was to authorize the construction management contract for Heery International, Inc to manage the construction of the new NE Seattle K-5 School.
In the following video, Ms. McEvoy introduces Agenda Items 10 and 11 with rationale for why the District awards construction management contracts for these type of projects. The conversation that follows is focused on Agenda Item 10 though (not the new NE Seattle K-5 School).
The following video is the District’s presentation of their revised recommendation for the new NE Seattle K-5 School and their justification for the change. The School Board discussion and Q&A is very interesting.
By Johnson, on March 26th, 2013
UPDATE 6: On Tuesday, April 2nd, from 7-9PM at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association hosted a community meeting about last Monday’s tragedy. There were speakers-a-plenty and many local and state officials present to listen in. The Ravenna Blog live-blogged from it. (Live Blog link)
UPDATE 5: We are so grateful and thankful to live in a community willing to donate generously for a family in as much need as the Schulte’s. Their need is great, so continued fund raising is important to help on their road to recovery. As of today, we’ve raised about $10,000 for Karina and Elias’s medical fund and about $1,000 to Dennis & Judy Schulte’s memorial fund through the ProjektKarma and personal donations made to HomeStreet Bank. Additionally, the other medical fund created by Karina’s friend has raised more than $40,000. Thank you for your continued donations as they have a long road ahead of them. Your funds are already making a difference for the family.
UPDATE 4: A Meal Schedule has been created to help Dan Schulte and his family over the coming weeks with so many people in town and so much time spent at the hospital. If you’d like donate food, prepared meals, snacks, or gift cards to support the Schulte family, please sign up for the Meal Schedule or email » Jess.
UPDATE 3: A growing list of businesses are donating food or gift cards to the family. Special thanks to the following businesses!
Cafe Javasti, Trophy Cupcakes, Grateful Bread, Safeway, Eat Local, Metropolitan Market, Coopers Alehouse, and the staff at QFC!
The customers at the Van Gogh Coffeehouse collected $786.48 in tips from Friday-Saturday to donate to the Schulte Family!
UPDATE 2: Yesterday was Karina’s 34th birthday!…which she spent at Harborview Hospital (Thanks for the birthday cupcakes, Trophy Cupcake!). Wish her a happy birthday through the medical funds set up below for her.
UPDATE 1: There is a growing list of events for the community to participate in to show support for the Schulte family. Here is a list of those that we know. More to follow as they’re confirmed. Please comment below if we’re missing any.
- THURSDAY – March 28th, 7PM: Sand Point Community United Methodist Church (4710 NE 70th Street), where the Schulte’s attended, is holding a Prayer Vigil for Karina and Baby Elias instead of their planned Maundy Thursday service.
- MONDAY – April 1st, from 4-5PM: There will be a Memorial Walk for anyone interested. Mayor McGinn will join us in our walk from Top Pot Doughnuts (on 35th Ave NE at NE 70th Street) to Eckstein and back. You are encouraged to bring flowers to remember Judy and Dennis or canned food (to be donated to the University Food Bank).
- TUESDAY – April 2nd, 7-9PM: The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association is hosting a community at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center gymnasium (6535 Ravenna Ave NE). The following have confirmed their attendance: Peter Hahn (SDOT Director), Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, the Executive Director and Associate Administrator for Harborview Medical Center, criminal and civil attorneys from the City Attorney’s Office, and a representative of the Seattle Police Dept will be there. Other City staff/departments may come as well but have yet to confirm. The meeting is open to everyone.
 Growing memorial for the Schulte family. (c/o Ravenna Blog) The Wedgwood Community Council has established two funds at the Homestreet Bank – Wedgwood Branch office. Thanks to a crowd-sourcing guru from the neighborhood, we’ve created an easier venue for those looking to contribute to the Schulte family on Projekt Karma. Please, please, please help us spread the word about this so that we can really contribute to the grieving family. Also, friends of Karina’s have also set up a fund through FundRazr and have agreed to let us spread the word about their fund too. The need is great. Needless to say that everything raised will be given to the family.
You can now click on the links below to access the giving page for each fund or deposit checks personally.
For more information on making a deposit you can call this branch of Homestreet Bank directly at 206-525-2840.
Please continue to keep everyone involved in this terrible incident in your thoughts. We are grieving alongside the family’s Seattle and Indiana friends and family. We’d also like to thank both HomeStreet Bank and Projekt Karma for their help getting this up and running so quickly.
By Johnson, on March 25th, 2013
UPDATE: Mayor McGinn responds to a neighbors question about safety on NE 75th Street during the March “Ask the Mayor” show on the Seattle Channel.
NOTE: We hope you won’t interpret this post as us placing blame or accusing SDOT. The Police clearly appear to have the person responsible in custody. SDOT has standards and codes that need to be followed and statistics that characterize street use. But we hope today’s tragedy is a call to action to address the safety and the morning/evening horse race along NE 75th Street.
In the wake of today’s tragedy in front of Eckstein Middle School we’re continuing to learn more on what happened (Ravenna Blog | Seattle PI | Seattle PD Blotter). It’s hard not to jump to conclusions, but the facts remain: 4 people were hit, 2 of whom died, by a man driving a truck westbound about 50 mph at around 4:10PM on NE 75th Street. A couple weeks ago, Seattle Police stationed an automated speed sign on NE 75th Street near where the accident occurred in the eastbound lane. Eckstein Middle School has an enrollment of about 1,300 students and one of the largest number of bike-to-school programs.
With this in mind, a lot of drivers have commented on just how fast and dangerous NE 75th Street is during commute hours. Is NE 75th Street a 2 lane road or a 4 lane road? We’ve been given permission to share this email exchange about such concerns at NE 75th Street and 28th Ave NE from a nearby resident (Erin Kennedy) with SDOT staff, which is exceptionally sad in hindsight. Unfortunately, Ms. Kennedy’s concerns were all too true.
From: sdotcrm@crm.seattle.gov
To: Erin Kennedy
CC: Reiner Blanco; William Burns
Subject: Responding t your workflow message (Intranet Quorum IMA00434967)
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:31:44 -0800
Dear Ms. Kennedy:
Thank you for writing to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) regarding your concerns with NE 75th Street. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention, as SDOT shares your concerns with wanting our street system to operate safely and efficiently for all users.
Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 11.14.375 states:
“Multiple lane street” means any street the roadway of which is of sufficient width to accommodate reasonably two (2) or more separate lanes of vehicular traffic in the same direction, each lane of which shall be no less than eight (8) feet in width, and whether or no such lanes are marked”
NE 75th Street in and around Wedgewood is of sufficient width on both eastbound and westbound t be considered a multiple lane street and able to accommodate two lanes in the same direction. However, the city does no typically mark two travel lanes when the traffic volumes along the street are relatively low. In this case, the traffic volumes along NE 75th are relatively low.
Some of the main factors that go into a decision about whether or no to mark a crosswalk are the characteristics of the roadway itself: features such as visibility, the number of lanes that pedestrians must cross, the proximity of the location in question to existing traffic signals, and the number of pedestrians who cross the street consistently at that location.
When marking a crosswalk, visibility is a crucial factor. If a driver cannot see a pedestrian because there is a curve in the road, a marked crosswalk will do little t improve the situation. In the case of 28th Avenue NE and NE 75th Street, the intersection is located in the middle of a hill which prevents drivers from seeing pedestrians and pedestrians who are crossing from seeing oncoming vehicles.
We generally find that on multi-lane roads with three or more lanes, a marked crosswalk alone without an accompanying traffic signal will do little to improve driver compliance or pedestrian safety. One of the main reasons is the risk of a multiple threat collision, a situation in which a driver in one lane stops for a pedestrian, but the driver in the next lane does not. We find that on busy streets the most beneficial improvements are either a reduction in the number of vehicle lanes or the installation of a traffic signal.
The location at 28th Avenue NE and NE 75th Street is located only a few blocks from the full traffic signal at 31st Avenue NE and NE 75th Street. The nearby presence of a traffic signal and the lack of strong pedestrian generators that would help provide consistent pedestrian traffic, suggest that this location is the preferred place to cross.
In summary, at this time we cannot recommend marking a crosswalk at this intersection. Although the legal responsibility of a driver is the same whether or no a crosswalk is marked or unmarked, the features at this particular intersection suggest that a marked crosswalk will no provide the benefit that pedestrians require in order to cross in comfort.
If you have any further questions or additional comments, please feel free t contact SDOT’s William Burns, Associate Civil Engineering Specialist, directly at (206) 684-5114 or william.burns@seattle.gov. Mr. Burns will be happy to assist you further.
Sincerely,
Reiner Blanco, P.E.
Senior Civil Engineer
Seattle Department of Transportation
Subject: RE: Responding to your workflow message (Intranet Quorum IMA00434967)
From: Ms. Kennedy
To: sdotcrm@crm.seattle.gov
CC: Reiner Blanco; William Burns
Thank you very much for your response. I appreciate the thought and consideration you put forth. I can understand why a cross walk would be dangerous being mid-hill. However, I think the bigger pedestrian and driver danger is that very few cars abide by the speed limit. Sooner or later, someone trying to cross the street is going to get hit by a car flying down the hill at 50mph. Is there anything to be done about speeders?
Erin
By Johnson, on March 25th, 2013
UPDATE: A lot of of bad things went down this afternoon in front of Eckstein, where one Tweeter pointed out to the Police and Mayor McGinn is where SPD had recently set up a speed sign. We corrected the title to reflect that 4 pedestrians were hit. Please keep the young, twenty-something woman and the infant, who are both at Harborview, in your thoughts. For that matter, keep all four of the pedestrians hit in your thoughts! A lot has been written about this already and there’s not much more we can add, so we recommend checking out the following posts:
As we write, NE 75th Street is blocked as 3 pedestrians were hit by a vehicle. Reports suggest that 2 of the 34 have died and that Police are evaluating the male driver for possible impairment. Seattle Police have set up detours while the investigation takes place. We will provide more information once reports provide more information. In the mean time, you can follow the @SeattlePD twitter feed or their Seattle Police Blotter blog for updates.
By valarie, on February 20th, 2013
 Eckstein Middle School at 3003 NE 75th Street will have an Incoming Student Information Night on Thursday, February 21, 7 to 9 PM. Fifth graders and their families are invited to join for an informational night if considering attending Eckstein in the 2013-14 school year. Eckstein is the reference school for most Wedgwood-area students.
By Johnson, on January 29th, 2013
As we’ve previously written about, the School District is in the midst of a discussion on what to do about overcrowded schools in both the short and long term. In the next few weeks, some decisions will be made by the School Board and by the voters of Seattle.
Short Term Capacity Management
This Thursday, January 31 (5 PM at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence Auditorium), the School Board will vote during a special meeting on what to do to address short term capacity management. The vote had been delayed until the Board could review updated attendance forecasts which were to come out this week. One of the more controversial aspects of their decision will be on how they address overcrowding at Eckstein Middle School. While we are not experts on this subject, there appears to be 3 options before the School District, although this is the proposal that appears to be before the District to approve as part of this action/motion. Also, here is the agenda for the special meeting for those interested in attending.
Long Term Capacity Management
Ballots should have been delivered to your mailbox now for the upcoming election on Proposition 1 and 2. If passed, Proposition 1 would provide approximately 25% of the School Districts operations budget while Proposition 2 would fund capital improvements which is known as the Building Excellence IV levy (BEX IV). You’ve likely heard that part of BEX IV would include construction of a new K-5 elementary school in Northeast Seattle. The new school was proposed for the present site of the Thornton Creek Elementary School playfields, but a grassroots campaign of local residents successfully lobbied the District to broaden the language to allow more time for other sites to be evaluated. However, we are currently unaware of any other potential sites besides the Thornton Creek Elementary playfields that the District has evaluated as alternative sites.
While the new Northeast K-5 school is a contentious issue for many Wedgwoodians (see Comments Section of our 2013 Priorities Poll and this post), it should be noted that there’s more in the BEX IV levy than just the new school. If Proposition 2 is passed, these other improvements would be coming to our neighborhood schools:
- Thornton Creek School would get new athletic field improvements (although it is not clear if this is a result of the new school proposed on the ballfields)!
- Eckstein would get a new science lab!
- Eckstein, View Ridge Elementary, and Wedgwood Elementary School would get seismic upgrades!
- Eckstein, View Ridge Elementary, and Wedgwood Elementary School would get new track and/or playfield upgrades!
- Eckstein would get its roof worked on!
- And a variety of technology upgrades…
The WCC has been asked to oppose BEX IV by those who are part of the grassroots effort to stop it. They have done an absolutely wonderful job advocating their position to us and the District. The WCC’s position on this issue has not changed. To read more about the WCC’s position on BEX IV, please read the bottom of this post. Despite our unwillingness to support or oppose the BEX IV levy, we have reached out to Lucy Morello to remind the District that the Wedgwood community expects to be part of the project design process should the voters approve Proposition 2. We were assured by Ms. Morello that “Yes, we (the District) very much want the community represented on the School Design Team Committee (SDT) for the NE Seattle K-5 school.”
One way or another, long-term capacity management choices will be made by the voters on February 12th.
By Johnson, on December 11th, 2012
By now, you’re probably aware that school capacity is a big issue at the Seattle Public School District. Apparently, people are still having kids! More increase is projected, so the crowding is only going to get worse. The District has been hosting a series of meetings over the past year on what to do. Our NE Seattle and Wedgwood-area elementary and middle school buildings are beyond the capacity they were designed for and multiple portable units are being added. To address this, the District is looking at both short and long-term solutions.
Short Term (2013-2014) Capacity
On December 11th the District is hosting a community meeting at the John Stanford Building auditorium from 7-8:30PM to discuss their short term capacity management proposal. According to information shared at the December 5th board work session on short term capacity management, it looks like a new portable is planned for View Ridge Elementary and may be required at Wedgwood Elementary. If you can’t make it to the December 11th meeting, a NE Seattle Capacity Management Community meeting will be held on December 17th at Olympic Hills Elementary from 6:30-8 PM.
Long Term Capacity
In November, the District formally adopted a $694.9 million Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Levy proposal to be voted on in February 2013 (along with a $559.1 million Operations Levy…that’s $1.25 billion). It is well known to some in Wedgwood that part of the District’s proposed long term solution to the growing capacity is a new school that is proposed to be constructed adjacent to Thornton Creek Elementary School, although language has been formally adopted by the school board in the BEX IV levy to allow some more flexibility on its location should another suitable site be identified. The adopted text is as follows:
“Northeast Seattle elementary school: To meet growing capacity, add K-5 school on Thornton Creek site by 2016 or equivalent additional seating capacity at another location.”
Now that the BEX IV Levy proposal has formally been approved, here’s a little bit on what the levy will do in the Wedgwood area if approved:
- A new K-5 school would be built at the Thornton Creek site or some place similar, to be open by 2016.
- Thornton Creek School would get new athletic field improvements (although its not clear if this is a result of the new school proposed on the ball fields)!
- Eckstein would get a new science lab!
- Eckstein, View Ridge Elementary, and Wedgwood Elementary School would get seismic upgrades!
- Eckstein, View Ridge Elementary, and Wedgwood Elementary School would get new track and/or playfield upgrades!
- Eckstein would get its roof worked on!
- And a variety of technology upgrades…
Not all of the proposed improvements have been welcomed with open arms by everyone in Wedgwood, but it’s because of these improvements and the pressing need to pass the Operations Levy, representing 27% of the District’s budget, that Schools First is hoping to emphasize how important these two levys are.
By valarie, on November 11th, 2012
Three juveniles were arrested early Saturday morning after police say they broke into Eckstein Middle School to try and steal musical instruments. Officers were called to the school at 3003 N.E. 75th Street at about 1:30 AM Saturday after an alarm was sounded. Police contained the area.
“Three suspects were observed inside with flashlights attempting to steal musical instruments,” Detective Renee Witt said in a statement. “All three suspects dropped the equipment and fled out of an exit door. The suspects were taken into custody without incident. They were fingerprinted and photographed.”
The three were interviewed and released to their parents later Saturday.
Opened in 1950 and expanded in 1968, Eckstein Middle School has more than 1,200 students. The original school building was designated in 1981 as a City of Seattle landmark. Former students include Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready and President Barack Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham.
By Johnson, on November 4th, 2012
Help Nathan Hale’s Highly Regarded Radio Station!
North Seattle KOMO has a story that Nathan Hale’s amazing radio station, C-89.5, is in the midst of a fundraiser to sustain the station. They’re hoping to raise $140,000 and YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE too!
Wedgwood Area Schools Are Still Amazing!
As we’ve report in 2010 and 2011, the public schools in our neck of the woods are pretty amazing. Last week, the Seattle School District’s new superintendent, José Banda released their Annual School Reports and State of the District. Schools are scored 1-5 (5 being the highest score) based on a variety of metrics.
In 2010, the first year that all public schools were scored, there were 12 schools that scored a 5, including Wedgwood, Thornton Creek, and View Ridge Elementary schools while Bryant Elementary, Eckstein Middle School, and Roosevelt High scored a 4 and Nathan Hale High received a score of 3.
Last year, while most school scores remained the same, View Ridge Elementary dropped from a 5 to 4, Bryant Elementary rose from a 4 to 5, and Nathan Hale rose from a 3 to 4.
This year, Wedgwood-area schools continue to score well with Nathan Hale the rising star of the year!
Great work to our local schools, including the phenomenal educators, staff, PTAs, and students that make our schools so successful!
Building Excellence IV Levy – UPDATE
As you may be aware, the Seattle School District has proposed, within a draft list of a projects for their upcoming Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) levy, to construct a new elementary school generally located on the Thornton Creek Elementary School playfields. Their list of projects has gone through several iterations although the new “North Seattle Elementary School” has largely remained unchanged despite vocal opposition by some neighbors. On Wednesday, November 7th, the school board intends to vote on a final list of projects for the BEX IV levy that will go out to voters on February 12, 2013.
At this Wednesday’s school board meeting, the board will vote on Building Excellence (BEX) IV Capital Improvement Program and Authorizing Resolution 2012/13-4. Based on the new version of this resolution, the following language has been added relative to the new North Seattle Elementary School.
“At Thornton Creek, the project list allows for the possibility that any needed additional seating capacity may be built at an alternative location.”
Furthermore, within Exhibit “A” – List of BEX IV projects, which the board will be provided, has the following language.
“North East Elementary @ Thornton Creek or equivalent additional seating capacity at another location – Opens 2016″
We currently are trying to get more information on what this revised language really means, although it appears that the District is providing themselves some ‘wiggle’ room to continue the school siting process while maintaining the necessary timeline for BEX IV to get on the ballot in February.
The upcoming School Board meeting will be on Wednesday, November 7th, starting at 4:15PM at the John Stafford Center at 2445 3rd Ave South. Public testimony is supposed to start at 5PM (see rules if you’d like to testify).
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