A divided Tacoma School Board has agreed to declare two recently closed schools surplus, clearing the way for McKinley and Wainwright elementary schools to be either sold or leased in the future.
Declaring the properties surplus is a first step that “merely opens the door” to other possibilities, Superintendent Art Jarvis said Thursday night when the board took the vote.
Before either property could be sold, he said, separate action would be required by the School Board.
District Operations Officer Sam Bell said it’s unlikely either property will be sold, but it’s more likely they will 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 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 Friday that she joined other board members in voting 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 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.
Winskill said she wanted more input from the Fircrest community before acting on Wainwright.
Several community members offered that Thursday.
Fircrest Mayor David Viafore told the School Board the City Council opposes the surplus declaration. 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, Viafore said, adding 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 any new use of the property 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. The church would be interested in reacquiring the parcel if there’s an opportunity, she said.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635 debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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