We should have a better idea as to what the future holds for Blaine and Lawton this week when the Seattle School Board takes on overcrowding at its meeting Wednesday, October 15.
The board will review the initial recommendations from staff members aimed at solving the problem of too many students and not enought space affecting Magnolia, Queen Anne and north end schools. This comes after community meetings like the one held at Blaine last month.
Blaine principal Heather Swanson says for the 2009-2010 school year the estimate is Blaine will be short four to six classrooms and for 2010-2011 it will be short another two to four classrooms.
The School Board was presented with a list of possible strategies for addressing this issue that include adding classroom space to Blaine or re-commissioning the school from a K-8 into a K-5 and sending the middle school students to McClure on Queen Anne. The board is expected to take action at the November 12th meeting.
Swanson says after the recommendation is presented this week, the Blaine community can formulate a plan. She says she is not opposed to “growing” Blaine but she wants to make sure the school is strategic in setting any growth plan.
She wll be attending this week’s meeting and invites anyone interested to join her. Following the meeting, she expects that concerned parents and teachers should be ready to speak out about the proposed action.
The meeting is at district headquarters, 2445 3rd Ave. S, starting at 6pm.
