Published: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Parents sue over closure of Trafton school
The Arlington School Board's decision hurts the students who attended the school, the lawsuit contends.
TRAFTON -- A group of parents whose children attended Trafton Elementary School is suing over the Arlington School Board's decision to close the school.
And the parents contend that the school district was considering an offer to rent out the historic school before the board voted to shut it down.
The parents say in the lawsuit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court that they are being harmed, because their children will be sent to schools that fail to meet federally mandated targets for adequate yearly progress.
"Basically, we feel that board's decision was unfair, biased and predetermined," said Terri Forslof, who served as a spokeswoman for the parent group. "We thought it would be an open process with discussion, but it wasn't. The vote to close Trafton wasn't properly thought out."
Arlington School Superintendent Kristine McDuffy and school board President Jeff Huleatt did not respond to requests for comment.
Julie Davis, assistant to the superintendent and the school board, said no one at the district office nor on the school board had a statement to make at this time.
The board voted unanimously June 14 to shutter Trafton, a school that was established in 1888 and is listed on the state Heritage Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It was considered the oldest continually operating small public school in the state.
The district is faced with declining enrollment, decreased state funding and a budget deficit of about $1.7 million. Officials expect to save more than $258,000 a year by not operating an elementary school at Trafton.
The lawsuit to appeal the board's decision was filed July 13 by five couples and three other individuals. The parents' complaint states that the board made its decision without complying with state requirements concerning school closures. In addition, some of the students will have to ride the bus about two hours a day to get to their new school and the trip would be even longer when the Stillaguamish River floods, the appeal says.
The suit also contends that the school board was engaged in negotiations to lease the building to a third party. If that deal had gone through, part of the district's anticipated $258,000 savings would go for upkeep, the parents claim.
The group hopes that a judge will order the board to rescind its decision to close the school. The parent group is being represented by Bridget Bourgette Shaw of Shaw Law Group in Seattle.
Under state law, the Trafton parents had a deadline of July 14 to file an appeal. Now the school district has until Aug. 2 to object and to file with the court any documents that were part of the board's decision-making process, said David Hokit, a Kent attorney who represents the school district.
Hokit and the school board have not met to discuss the case, he said.
And the parents contend that the school district was considering an offer to rent out the historic school before the board voted to shut it down.
The parents say in the lawsuit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court that they are being harmed, because their children will be sent to schools that fail to meet federally mandated targets for adequate yearly progress.
"Basically, we feel that board's decision was unfair, biased and predetermined," said Terri Forslof, who served as a spokeswoman for the parent group. "We thought it would be an open process with discussion, but it wasn't. The vote to close Trafton wasn't properly thought out."
Arlington School Superintendent Kristine McDuffy and school board President Jeff Huleatt did not respond to requests for comment.
Julie Davis, assistant to the superintendent and the school board, said no one at the district office nor on the school board had a statement to make at this time.
The board voted unanimously June 14 to shutter Trafton, a school that was established in 1888 and is listed on the state Heritage Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It was considered the oldest continually operating small public school in the state.
The district is faced with declining enrollment, decreased state funding and a budget deficit of about $1.7 million. Officials expect to save more than $258,000 a year by not operating an elementary school at Trafton.
The lawsuit to appeal the board's decision was filed July 13 by five couples and three other individuals. The parents' complaint states that the board made its decision without complying with state requirements concerning school closures. In addition, some of the students will have to ride the bus about two hours a day to get to their new school and the trip would be even longer when the Stillaguamish River floods, the appeal says.
The suit also contends that the school board was engaged in negotiations to lease the building to a third party. If that deal had gone through, part of the district's anticipated $258,000 savings would go for upkeep, the parents claim.
The group hopes that a judge will order the board to rescind its decision to close the school. The parent group is being represented by Bridget Bourgette Shaw of Shaw Law Group in Seattle.
Under state law, the Trafton parents had a deadline of July 14 to file an appeal. Now the school district has until Aug. 2 to object and to file with the court any documents that were part of the board's decision-making process, said David Hokit, a Kent attorney who represents the school district.
Hokit and the school board have not met to discuss the case, he said.
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