We urge the Highline School Board to reject the proposal to move Cascade Middle School to the Salmon Creek site and to identify a solution that better serves both students and our community — one that preserves the Shark Garden and reflects long-term vision and care.

For a decade, the Shark Garden at Salmon Creek has been more than just a community garden — it is a lifeline, a gathering place, and the heart of our neighborhood. It provides food, education, and connection for thousands of residents each year, supports a regional food bank network serving over 100,000 people, and represents more than $1 million in community investment. Located in an area ranked 10 out of 10 on Washington’s Environmental Health Disparities Map, it offers critical access to green space, health, and environmental education for an underserved community.

The proposed relocation of Cascade Middle School to this site not only demolishes the Shark Garden, but replaces it with a campus, (specifically, a parking lot) that is significantly constrained and is not suitable for a school of this size. Most elementary schools in the district provide 650–900 square feet per student. The proposed Cascade site would fall below even the most constrained of these — asking older students to learn and grow in less space than our youngest learners. Cascade Middle school at Salmon Creek would be the smallest and most limited in the district, with far less space per student than other middle schools and well below recommended state guidelines. This raises serious concerns about student equity, safety, and long-term functionality.

This proposal also places a large school directly within a quiet, residential neighborhood, bringing major traffic and safety impacts to small local streets. Current plans suggest routing car traffic through quiet, walkable areas near Salmon Creek Park - spaces heavily used by children, families, walkers, and cyclists for health, wellness, and connection to green space. This creates real safety risks and disrupts the very green spaces that support community health and wellbeing.

This proposal also raises fundamental equity concerns. While other schools in the district benefit from modern campuses with access to open space and outdoor learning environments, this plan would move Cascade students away from the brand new modern Evergreen campus to a smaller, more crowded site — a site created by using public tax dollars to destroy the existing hub of environmental education and ecological richness (The Shark Garden). That is not equitable.

Community voice on this issue is clear. Hundreds of residents have expressed strong opposition, yet this feedback has not been meaningfully reflected in the process.

At its core, this is also a question of responsible use of taxpayer dollars. In a time of budget constraints, spending significant public tax dollars to demolish or relocate a thriving, community-built resource - only to build on a site that may not meet long-term needs - reflects a lack of planning and foresight. The true cost is not just financial, but social, environmental, and generational.

We support investing in schools. We support our students. But we also expect thoughtful, responsible planning that does not sacrifice community green space, student equity, or safety.

We urge the Highline School Board to reject the proposal to move Cascade Middle School to the Salmon Creek site and to identify a solution that better serves both students and our community — one that preserves the Shark Garden and reflects long-term vision and care.

Sign this petition to protect the Shark Garden, prioritize student equity and safety, and demand responsible planning for our schools.

You can view a summary of the district’s current plans here:
  https://www.sharkgarden.org/district-plans

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