Two Competing Proposals for MLK School

Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in Madison Valley was closed by the school district in June of 2006, and the 1950's era structure has been vacant ever since. The school district has decided to get rid of the property, and the clock is now ticking on an October 15th deadline for proposals to buy or lease the old school. 

Two suitors have their eyes on the property and are planning to submit proposals. One is the community that lives around it. The other is the private and well-regarded Bush School that occupies a large chunk of land directly east of the MLK school property.

According to Madison Valley resident Adrienne Bailey, the vacancy at the school has been more than a physical one, leaving a hole in the overall community spirit as well. When the school was active it was the site of numerous community events such as a spaghetti dinner tradition that was held there for thirty years, yard sales, and space for other community gatherings.

Adrienne has been working with the Citizens for a Community Center at M.L. King (CCC@MLKing) group for more than two years to get that piece of community back by organizing other community leaders, city officials, and state legislators to turn the school into an official community center for Madison Valley. They're working on a proposal to purchase the school, recently appraised at $2.4 million, and turn it over to the community for its use. Funds would come from a variety of sources, including a pot of state money that has been specifically dedicated for this sort of purpose.

Their vision for the property is to retain and rehabilitate the existing school structure and make it suitable to a wide range of community uses. They would lease a lot of the space during the daytime to arts, education, and other service providers. Conceptual drawings include space for a daycare and new playground equipment for neighborhood kids. Other space could be used for arts and performances, adult education, and social services to help veterans.

The neighboring Bush School has a different vision. They've been expanding steadily for years, adding new buildings to accommodate their 580 students in grades K-8. But the density of their educational buildings has left out one thing that is typically found at schools: space for playfields.

We spoke to Maia Kaz, Director of Communications for the school, who described the availability of the MLK property as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the school to expand its campus and facilities on an adjacent property." Bush School administrators don't want to lose that opportunity, and plan to submit a proposal to purchase the MLK property from Seattle Schools and use it to create playfields for the school's PE and athletic programs.

Kaz stressed that they've tried to be completely open about their intentions for the property by attending community meetings and participating in the public process that has led up to the sale. She also says that the school is committed to share the play fields with the surrounding community whenever they're not in use by the school.

But according to Adrienne Bailey, playfields aren't what the surrounding community has in mind. All of their goals center on making use of the existing structure and playground, and she points out that playfields already exist within the community at Washington Park just on the other side of Madison Street. Bailey also raised concerns about the community's ability to use any part of the property if it is owned and controlled at the discretion of a private organization.

The final decision will be up to the school board, who will weigh each proposal that is submitted and make a choice in late January of 2010. They've got competing criteria that include maximizing their financial return, while also giving priority to other public agencies over private bidders.

For more information on the community's plans, see http://mlkcommunitycenter.org

For more information on the school sale process, see http://www.seattleschools.org/area/propertymgt/mlkschool.xml

Stay tuned for more news and events on this as the date for proposals nears.