Community group continues fight for MLK school

Residents in Madison Valley who want to turn the vacant MLK school into a community center are fighting back against a school district report that organizer Adrienne Bailey says is "so bogus and one-sided". The document (attached below) was produced by the school district committee that is tasked with making a selection among the four competing proposals for the abandoned elementary school, and includes a substantial critique of CCC@MLK's proposal for the school property.

Last week CCC@MLK sent a six-page rebuttal back to the committee (also attached below), taking issue with all of the critical points made by the district:

Social Services: A key question in the analysis of the proposals is how many community services and youth education opportunities each one would provide, and whether it rises to the level that would justify any rental rate discounts and choose anything but the highest bidder. The district report says that CCC@MLK "provide[s] minimal new youth education activities and only a small amount of social services". The community group responds by citing their partner organizations, such as a veterans services group, and Mitchell's House which serves at-risk youth.

Veterans Controversy: The district discounted the participation of the veterans group because it is "currently located in a nearby office complex" and thus moving it to MLK wouldn't add new services. However, CCC@MLK says that they only have a PO box at that location, not physical space, and that having space at the proposed community center would allow the group to consolidate and expand services that are currently provided in multiple member's houses.

Market Rents: Even if CCC@MLK's programs counted as youth and social services, the district says they wouldn't qualify since they would be paying market rates for the space they use in the building. However, the group's rebuttal cites numerous examples that set market rate space in that area at around $25-$30 per square foot, significantly more than CCC@MLK's proposed rate of $16 per sq. ft. of space inside the community center.

Community Value: The district report says that there is "doubt as to the actual availability of the property for public access, i.e., community center use", given the amount of space that will be taken up by CCC@MLK's service providers. The community organizers respond that restoring community space and events is a key part of their proposal, with plans to restore access to the playground behind the school, inclusion of a neighborhood computer center, and a "community living room" that will be open to the public from 8am - 9pm. 

The path forward to a decision on the property is not clear at this point as there's currently no agenda item on any upcoming school board meeting to discuss or vote on the proposals. CCC@MLK leaders note that time is of the essence, as the city has given a deadline of August for the building to be re-occupied. Any time after that date and the city will require the owners to bring the entire structure up to current code, which would be too expensive for three of the four participants to complete. That would leave the Bush School as the defacto winner since their plan calls for demolishing the existing buildings and building playfields in their place.

CC@MLK supporters are planning on attending each upcoming school board meeting until a decision is made. If you want to get involved, you can get in touch with them on their website at http://mlkcommunitycenter.org