No, the fight for Fort Lawton is NOT over! Urgent Call to action!

Dear neighbors and supporters, Many of you have received information back from the Office Of Housing that SPS was unable to answer specific use questions regarding the Fort Lawton Land and that they are thus moving forward on their existing EIS alternatives. While initially seeming like defeat, we will not let this be a hard stop in the conversation for the need for this land for the Seattle Public Schools. My friends, now is the time to double back to our city, district and school board officials letting them know that we see increasing densification, the need for more physical space for the education of our children and that, in this world-class city, we expect proactive planning for world-class education for our children! We will open this year, in this particular cluster, feeling immense pressure of more bodies in our schools.  Our teachers and staff rely heavily on our fundraising efforts to help mitigate this crush, but the downstream effects of the overpopulation of our schools will be borne by our children, so we must act now! We have a new school that is going to open, hopefully in two years, but with its opening there truly won't be any relief on the capacity constraints/pressure, we are merely shuffling seats. Those who have preschool and elementary aged students will feel the gravity of the capacity crisis as they hit middle school and high school, but by that point it is too late to do anything... actions need to take place now and the complacency of both thought and action of senior staff cease any possibility of proactive actions or planning to alleviate this nearing crisis. We are frustrated with the inaccuracies in Dr. Nyland’s letter, especially around capacity and the lack of accurate information and engagement with the Department of Education… --While focusing only on Magnolia in his statement, one "neighborhood" doesn't stand alone because with capacity issues, domino effects spill into adjacent neighborhoods and clusters. --The SPS growth projections of student numbers are woefully low and do not account for the rapid growth in this area due to upzoning, new construction, and young families moving in. --Dr. Nyland noted that the district will have a significant need for infrastructure in the very near future- this necessitates that the investigation into this property is full and robust. Please consider that by the time an EIS study occurs, permits are pulled, ground is broken, and a school is built, the “very near future” will be here! --If no school is on this land, and if 150+ family units are built there, we immediately find ourselves in crisis because there are not seats for that many new students in our cluster. The realities that are being ignored by the district must not be ignored by us, and we must evoke change! --The letter to the Office of Housing stated that the DOE did not respond to the district’s requests for information. Why would our district decline land that they have not even fully explored! To quote Supt Nyland from his letter, "We recognize the once in a lifetime opportunity obtaining some of the Ft. Lawton property provides" - Thus, we are hoping that a the amount of effort toward taking advantage of such an opportunity is commensurate with the opportunity itself!  A rapidly growing number of parents are ready to help make this happen as they become aware of the opportunity!  Please contact the below leaders of the school district and city to again voice your insistence that we not squander this opportunity! Until every stone has been turned, we need to advocate for this land which will serve students for generations to come. 1000 emails in their inboxes will let them know we are serious about our children and the future of education in our city! If you send an email, will you let us know? Email FLSTEAMcom@gmail.com . If you have additional questions or ideas, please reach out! superintendent@seattleschools.org ltherndon@seattleschools.org sjnielsen@seattleschools.org cjcampbell@seattleschools.org rlbest@seattleschools.org sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov council@seattle.gov jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov steve.Walker@seattle.gov emily.Alvarado@seattle.gov lindsay.Masters@seattle.gov schoolboard@seattleschools.org leslie.harris@seattleschools.org sue.peters@seattleschools.org rick.burke@seattleschools.org growthboundaries@seattleschools.org noel.frame@leg.wa.gov reuven.Carlyle@leg.wa.gov