Puyallup Tribe might buy vacant Tacoma school

The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is interested in buying the vacant Gault Middle School property in Tacoma and turning it into a community center for use by both tribal members and the larger community.

The tribe sent a letter to the Tacoma School Board in late June, indicating it would like to negotiate a deal for the old school, which is located close to tribal lands on Tacoma’s East Side overlooking the Tacoma Dome.

A follow-up letter from Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman Herman Dillon, dated July 21, said the tribe’s intended use for the building, “includes, but is not limited to, a community center including recreation and education for the tribal and neighboring community.”

Tribal media liaison John Weymer said other uses might include anything from a tribal membership meeting to a Christmas celebration.

While negotiations between the school district and the tribe are in their infancy, the news that the old school might someday welcome kids to its hallways again delighted at least one Eastside community activist.

“Excellent,” said Lynnette Scheidt, who heads the Dometop Neighborhood Alliance and the Eastside Neighborhood Advisory Council of Tacoma. “We welcome the tribe. We partner well with the tribe.”

Gault, at 1115 E. Division Lane, closed when the new First Creek Middle School opened in September 2009. Students from both Gault and the old McIlvaigh Middle School now attend First Creek. McIlvaigh was demolished.

Gault neighbors have pleaded with the school board not to let the building sit empty, fearing it could become an eyesore and a target for vandals. Scheidt said she had heard about two graffiti incidents and another episode involving a trespasser climbing on the school roof.

School board members earlier this year said they wanted to hang on to Gault as a potential temporary home for students from other schools undergoing construction or renovation in the future. But Sam Bell, the district’s chief operating officer, said Thursday that the district has other options, including the recently closed Hunt Middle School near Tacoma Community College.

Another option, which the school board discussed earlier this year, was renting Gault to outside agencies.

The tribe has asked the school board for an independent appraisal of the property. At its meeting Thursday night, the board authorized district staff members to select an appraisal firm.

The tribe also asked for a property inspection and estimates of how much it might cost to remedy any defects in the building. It was constructed in 1925 – one of six junior high schools built to accommodate Tacoma’s burgeoning school population in the ’20s – and added to four times over the years.

Weymer said the tribe is interested in saving the building, not tearing it down.

The school, with about 110,000 square feet of space, sits on a 10.6-acre site that includes athletic fields. Attached to the school is an indoor swimming pool. Metro Parks Tacoma operates the pool, while Tacoma Public Schools chips in about $60,000 a year.

Negotiations to sell the school building would require the involvement of Metro Parks and the City of Tacoma, which has an interest in the pool, Bell said.

“There is a lot of work ahead of us,” he said. But he described the possible outcome as positive for the tribe, the school district, the community and Metro Parks.

He said letters will be sent to community groups, neighbors of the property, business organizations and the affected governments explaining the potential sale.

“The tribe is fortunate to be successful with its businesses,” Weymer said, adding that such success has given the tribe the assets to make the community center a possibility for the tribe and Gault area neighbors.

“Kids need a place to go,” he said.

Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635

debbiecafazzo@thenewstribune.com