Plans to sell the former Woodway Elementary property could jeopardize the future of the Pacific Montessori Learning Center.
Montessori school officials say they learned a few weeks ago that the school district would not renew the lease for the four rooms it leases in the old building, leaving school officials and parents scrambling.
“The fear is that all of the other schools are doing registration,” said Michelle Corsi, whose 4-year-old son attends the school. “I want to stay with Pacific Montessori, but I’m going to have to start looking right away because all the others will fill up.”
For 19 years, Pacific Montessori has been in the facility that hasn’t been used by the district as an elementary school for more than three decades. In 2004, the district declared the site surplus with the intent of selling it, district spokeswoman Debbie Jakala said.
The district reportedly has received 23 bids from developers interested in the land that is mainly open space, play fields and old school buildings. The land is said to be worth about $7 million.
Another potential purchaser of all or part of the 11 acres is the city of Edmonds, which would like a park at the site.
Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson announced at the Tuesday, Feb. 21, city council meeting that he is working with district officials on an agreement that would require any private developer to donate parkland and improvements to the city as part of a purchase agreement (See related story). However, that wouldn’t help Pacific Montessori.
Haakenson sent a letter Feb. 13 to the parents of the approximately 70 students at the school. In it, he said the city has not officially made an offer for the land.
“… I can tell you that the City of Edmonds is committed to creating a neighborhood park – size as yet undetermined – at the school site,” Haakenson wrote. “Our comprehensive plan calls for a park there, and we will do our best to make that happen.”
Approximately 25 Montessori parents and teachers attended the council meeting where Haakenson made his announcement. Several spoke during the audience-comment portion, imploring the board to help them convince the school district to extend the school’s lease one more year.
After the meeting, Deanna Dawson, council president, met with the group, explaining that the city does not own the land and has no control over whether or not the school can stay there.
“If they (parents) need to know now where they will be next year…they need to look for other options,” Dawson said she told them. “It’s very do-able for the school to relocate somewhere,” she continued, adding, “it’s not about the building, anyway, it’s about the people (in it).”
Rosemary Smith, a co-owner of Pacific Mo#ntessori, said that she thought she had at least one more year to find a new location.
She said she was under the impression the school would be able to remain on the site until a sale was completed and the new owner was ready to build.
“In our brain, we were thinking we could be here until all of that happened,” she said.
But Jakala said the Montessori school has known it would need to move ever since the district surplussed the property in 2004.
The school district conducted numerous public meetings on the property, she said.
At the moment, the school has two options, she said. It can either close or move into the old Woodway High School site. But Smith said that site does not have any of the amenities the school currently enjoys.
A new site would need to pass inspection by the state Department of Social and Human Services, as well as the Edmonds Fire Department. Also, the high-school site does not have a playground or bathrooms within the classrooms, Corsi said.
Smith said the current site has had several upgrades, including some asbestos removal.
Corsi said the school fills an important void for families with working parents. It offers an all-day option, where most preschools only offer half-day programs, she said.
“I don’t know where to put my child for one year,” Corsi said. “It would be really hard on my 4-year-old to have him adapt to a new preschool and then pull him out of there to go to kindergarten.”
“We’re working with the school district to find a spot – we have to have space for the kids,” Smith said. “But part of the problem is registering. People have to find a place to put their children.”
Miller said Pacific Montessori and Edmonds School District officials visited the old Woodway High site more than a week ago. But the future of the school at its current site is between the Montessori school and the future owner of the land.
State law prohibits the school district from selling the property for less than its value.
“We have a responsibility to the taxpayers to get the most we can for the property,” Jakala said. “But we are in a position where we need to move forward with our plans for the property.”
Enterprise writer Sue Waldburger contributed to this story.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
