A divided Tacoma School Board agreed Thursday to declare two recently closed elementary schools surplus, clearing the way for both McKinley and Wainwright elementary schools to be either sold or leased in the future.
Superintendent Art Jarvis said that declaring the properties surplus is a first step that “merely opens the door” to other possibilities.
He said that before either property could be sold, separate action would be required by the School Board. District Operations Officer Sam Bell said it’s unlikely either property would be sold, but it’s more likely they would be leased or used for other school district programs.
Both schools were closed at the end of the 2010-11 school year as a cost-saving measure. Board members have said in the past that they are concerned about letting old school buildings sit empty.
Board member Debbie Winskill voted against the declaration for Wainwright.
“When we closed this school, there was a lot of angst,” she said. “I told people it would be able to reopen. I can’t vote for (the resolution) right now, especially with the word ‘sale’ in it.”
She said she joined other board members to vote for the surplus declaration on McKinley because community members there have asked the district to do what it can to prevent another closed school building on the city’s East Side from remaining empty long-term. In addition to McKinley, Gault Middle School has also been declared surplus to district needs. A plan by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to transform Gault into a community center has stalled due to costs involved.
Winskill said she wanted more input from the Fircrest community before acting on Wainwright.
Several community members offered their views Thursday.
Fircrest Mayor David Viafore told the school board that the City Council is opposed to the surplus declaration. He said the school operated under a conditional use permit, which does not allow uses that are not educational in nature.
He said the district has not maintained the property, and that the city had to ask for weeds to be cut down.
“The district didn’t communicate with the city,” he said. “We need to work together.”
June Summerville, who lives directly south of Wainwright, said she hopes that if there’s a new use of the property, it isn’t a noisy one or something that creates traffic problems for the neighborhood.
She also asked that any new owner or tenant preserve the wooded greenbelt on school grounds.
“I would encourage you to involve people from the neighborhood in helping to form your decisions about the use of the Wainwright Elementary School property to a greater extent than simply holding public hearings,” Summerville told the board.
And Tracy Keil, a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church, said the church originally sold part of the property for the school. She said the church would be interested in re-acquiring the parcel if there’s an opportunity.
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