M.L. King Elementary site is surplus, school board decides

The former Martin Luther King Elementary, a tiny but beloved Madison Valley school that was shuttered in 2006 despite a lawsuit and community protests, is no longer needed and could be leased or sold, the Seattle School Board decided Wednesday.

The decision to declare the property surplus does not necessarily mean it will be sold, but the handful of community members who spoke at the meeting assumed that was Seattle Public Schools' plan.

"Please do not allow this prime property to be surplused," said Jan Lind-Sherman, a longtime King Elementary teacher. "You've made a lot of mistakes; please don't let this be another one."

Madison Valley resident and community activist Peter Triandafilou urged the School Board to consider turning the property into a community center for the neighborhood.

"This school served as the lifeblood of the community," he said. "The bottom line is it's an important community resource and should stay a community resource."

School district officials have said no decisions on the property's fate will be made until at least the end of the year.

Board member Mary Bass, who represents the area, said she knows residents are concerned and understands their fears that the building would eventually be sold.

"In our history, surplusing equals sale, so people are leery about that," she said, but added, "I do believe the district will be very open about the next steps."

The district has closed more than 30 school sites since 1970 and sold about a dozen of them. Most of the rest are leased to community groups or are used as interim sites for schools whose buildings are undergoing renovations.

Though some community members have clung to the hope the school could be reopened, district officials have said there's virtually no chance of that happening. The school sits on a too-small 2-acre lot, and demographers predict there won't be enough new students enrolling in coming years to justify reopening a school in that neighborhood.

Though the property's not on the market, that hasn't stopped interested parties -- including community groups and some private schools -- from inquiring about buying the King building. Representatives from The Bush School, a private school next to the M.L. King site, are among those who have voiced interest. The school has sent several letters to the district in the past two years asking about potentially buying the property.

Still, there's no indication the district plans to sell what was once the district's smallest elementary school -- or that a private school would be the likely buyer.

"I would be very, very reluctant to entertain the sale of a public school that was paid for with public funds, to revert to a private use," board member Michael DeBell said. "I'm not saying we can categorically say it would never happen, but it would be difficult for me to imagine the circumstances."

Shrinking enrollment and the school's small lot size helped to prompt the district to close the school and merge its students into nearby T.T. Minor Elementary in the fall of 2006. That year, King had only 103 students enrolled.

At the time, some community members accused the district of sabotaging the school's chances of boosting enrollment, and of targeting the school for closure because it primarily served students of color and students from poor families.

If the district does decide to sell the former school, the public should have plenty of notice -- the district would have to get the property appraised, hold at least one public hearing and have the School Board publicly vote to approve the sale.