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Capitol Hill and Central District high school population boom has Garfield looking for extra classroom space

Garfield, the Seattle public high school serving Capitol Hill and Central District area students, is growing so fast it will need portable classrooms to make space for its students.

The City of Seattle is looking for citizens to join advisory committees that will help determine recommendations for possible zoning changes to allow the 23rd Ave high school and a set of other Seattle Public Schools campuses to “provide less than required on-site parking” so they have space to add portable-style classrooms.

 

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The Seattle School Board has discussed the predicted over-capacity issues — and lack of capital solutions — in recent meetings. Projections show Garfield far exceeding its “operational” capacity of around 1,700 with more than 1,900 students expected to attend the school for the next 2018-2019 school year. The board report says the portables lined up for Garfield will cost around $680,000 — or $170,000 per classroom.

“Neighbors who live or own a business within 600’ of the associated school, residents in the surrounding neighborhood of the school, representatives of city-wide education issues, students of the school, and parents of potential students” are invited to join the advisory committees to shape the zoning recommendations.

In addition to population changes across the city, school demand is also shaped by regular boundary adjustments and shifts in special programs at Seattle Public Schools. Predictions of a booming middle schooler population prompted Seattle Schools to reopen its Meany Middle School on 20th Ave E this year. Demand for Garfield, meanwhile, is predicted to cool off starting with the 2019-2020 school year.

 

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dave
dave
6 years ago

Based on the table showing projected enrollment continuing to grow through 2021-22, I don’t agree with the last sentence.

FNH
FNH
6 years ago
Reply to  dave

Lincoln HS is opening in 2019 and will pull the north Seattle HCC pathway students away from Garfield. Those students have been attending Garfield since 1979 and represent a sizable proportion of the current student population.

DiNK
DiNK
6 years ago

Time for parents to start paying more the more kids they have. Heck, we’ll give you the first two free – beyond that, you lose your tax deductions and start having to pay more. Pay for what you use!

jfoxcullen
6 years ago

FNH is correct. I hope the community will support the placement of portables. Some of the programs there are going to be split and students from the Northend in those programs will go to Lincoln. The projections shown would only materialize if everything remained as is now without the program at Lincoln and later possibly other sites. The portables will prevent disruption for our neighborhood so that there is room for them to continue being assigned to Garfield. If portables were not placed there, the district might shrink the boundaries necessarily blocking neighborhood students from attending during the transition period.

jfoxcullen
6 years ago
Reply to  jfoxcullen

I was sure that before I clicked “post comment” above that I had made sure that “unnecessarily” was there. Spell check had tried to correct it to “necessarily”. I see that spell check won. My point is that in the long run shrinking boundaries would disrupt and harm Garfield and be unnecessary. FNH is correct. I hope the community will support the placement of portables. Some of the programs there are going to be split and students from the Northend in those programs will go to Lincoln. The projections shown would only materialize if everything remained as is now without the program at Lincoln and later possibly other sites. The portables will prevent disruption for our neighborhood so that there is room for them to continue being assigned to Garfield. If portables were not placed there, the district might shrink the boundaries unnecessarily blocking neighborhood students from attending during the transition period.