Superintendent's Preliminary Recommendation

Questions and Answers

SECTION F: Facilities

1. How many facilities do you currently have?

Seattle Public Schools currently owns 123 sites. Of this number:

• 94 are active school sites (67 elementary buildings, 17 middle school buildings, and 10 high school buildings),
• 4 are used for administrative or athletic purposes,
• 19 sites are closed or on lease, and
• 5 are used as interim sites.

In addition, Seattle Public Schools also owns the 131-acre Cleveland Memorial Forest, which is an environmental education center in Sammamish.

2. Do you have a Facilities Master Plan? If so, what are you doing to update it, and how will it change as a result of school consolidation?

Seattle Public Schools has a Facilities Master Plan (FMP). The FMP was updated in 1999 and adopted in March 1999 by the School Board. It is our practice to update the FMP every six years, and an update was started in the summer of 2004. However, these efforts were put on hold until school consolidation efforts were completed.

A new Facilities Master Plan will be drafted, presented to the community for comments and input, and reviewed by the School Board for potential adoption in late 2006. The new FMP will reflect changes in demographics and building use as a result of any school consolidations and changes to the student assignment plan.

3. What are your statistics on school age, available acreage, and school capacity?

We maintain a facilities database that includes information for each building and site, including school age, available acreage, and school capacity.

Thirty-seven buildings have undergone renovation or new construction as a result of the district's capital improvement programs, Capital Improvement Program I (CIP I) and Building Excellence (BEX) I and II. As a result, the average building age has decreased from 65 to 42 years.

Size ranges for schools are as follows:

• Elementary schools range from 1.4 to 14.0 acres, and range in capacity from 134 to 533 students, with an average site size of 4.9 acres and an average capacity of 322 students,
• Middle schools range from 2.2 to 29.9 acres, and range in capacity from 467 to 1247 students, with an average site size of 11.2 acres and an average capacity of 827 students, and
• High schools range from 8.0 to 28.8 acres and range in capacity from 283 to 1630 students, with an average site size of 14.3 acres and an average capacity of 972 students.

4. How will school consolidation affect your capital improvement plans - i.e., BEX II and BTA II?

Planning for capital levies -- Buildings, Technology, and Academics (BTA) II and BEX II -- was done several years ago, and we are reviewing upcoming projects for both levies in conjunction with school consolidation efforts. Several of the BEX II projects focus on secondary schools (Roosevelt, Garfield, and Cleveland high schools, and Madison Middle School), which will not be affected by consolidation efforts.

BTA II projects are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2005. Bids for those projects will be awarded after the Superintendent's Preliminary Recommendation to the School Board on April 20, and will take the Superintendent's recommendations into account.

5. If you close a school, can you sell the land and use the funds for capital improvements?

Yes. According to the Accounting Manual for School Districts in the State of Washington (September 1, 2002): "The sale of real property may be used for any legal purpose of the capital projects fund. The purchase of initial equipment [as defined in this section] is also allowable."

Proceeds from the sale of the district's real property may also go to the debt service fund.

6. If schools are closed, what do you plan to do with the closed buildings?

We have not determined specific uses for any buildings recommended for closure. It is likely that closed buildings will be held for future growth, leased to community groups, or used as interim sites while schools are being renovated. If the School Board determines that there is no long-term use for a specific property, a closed building may be sold.

Chapter 23.78 of the Seattle Municipal Code governs the use of closed school buildings in Seattle. This code recognizes that closed school buildings can continue to be an important part of their neighborhoods, and it establishes a School Use Advisory Committee (SUAC) process for building reuse. The SUAC process is administered by the Department of Neighborhoods, and requires participation from the City of Seattle, the district, and neighbors near the school in determining acceptable uses for closed school buildings.