The Squire Park Community Council unanimously voted to support reopening TT Minor as a Neighborhood School ASAP.  Since then it has been confirmed that almost 500 currently live in the TT Minor walk zone with the number projected to grow to 600 by 2017.  All elected officials, not just School Board members, can influence the decision of the Board.  Revised recommendations will go to the Board on November 6, and the final vote will be November20. Below is my personal letter to the Board:

*The green line outlines Madrona walk zone and the darker green filled in area is the Leschi walk zone.

Below is my personal letter to the Board:

Dear School Board;

Given your own guiding principles of of walkable neighborhood schools and the fact that the child/student  dense area covered by the TT Minor walk zone between E. Cherry and E. John/Thomas/Madison is not  covered in any other walk zones, reopening TT Minor as a neighborhood school should be obvious to you.  During the school closures, it was no secret that the neighborhood objected, and much of the neighborhood again requested that they continue to be guaranteed assignment to Stevens until TT Minor was available again.  The date that the lease there would be up was never clear.   These  past actions in themselves, along with the number of students requiring transportation,  should have made it clear that TT Minor as neighborhood school was still of great interest to the community, and yet there was no outreach to the community regarding the fact that the building would again be available.   Why would the District even consider the perfectly located neighborhood elementary school facility. TT Minor, as a location for a non neighborhood based secondary program?  That remains a mystery to all our neighborhood groups.

Neighborhood parents and community members were not in any of the discussions regarding where the Seattle World School would be located.  In fact, it was TBD until the last minute before BEX IV went on the ballot.  This neighborhood, including myself, support Seattle Schools and the students as much as any other neighborhood and would not want to be against a major BEX Levy.

I want to remind you that our neighborhood students have been sent to many different schools and there is not a PTSA representing this area, and it takes awhile for everyone to realize what is happening and the repercussions of the various proposals.   Many of the parents concerned with the action to get TT Minor back as a neighborhood school include parents of preschool children, and this is there first dealings with the Seattle School District. The needs of this neighborhood are now.  The children live here.  The families deserve a sustainable neighborhood school.  Let them see the thoughtful, caring, and smart Board that you are capable of being.

Please honor your mission of providing excellent neighborhood schools for all students as equitably as possible across the District.  I will also add that the  TT Minor neighborhood parents who did attend a BEX planning discussion at Stevens were told that their questions were inappropriate.

I hope this answers some of the basic questions you may have regarding this matter.