A long-running ideological fight over the future of a state institution for the developmentally disabled has been halted temporarily to allow Gov. Christine Gregoire's staff to study the issue.

The Fircrest School, an institution in Shoreline for the profoundly retarded and medically fragile, had been on track to close, shrinking from 260 residents two years ago to 199 today.

But a vocal and well-organized group of relatives and guardians of the school's residents, with support of state labor unions, persuaded Gregoire and the Legislature to halt the downsizing while a broader plan was created to house and serve the developmentally disabled.

"I think Gov. Gregoire didn't want to presume we'd continue to downsize," said Kari Burrell, Gregoire's policy analyst for developmental-disabilities issues. "She wanted to step back. She felt the debate had become so polarized and not focused on the larger issue of developmental-disabilities funding."

The Legislature last session set aside $182,000 to pay for the study and called for a 13-member advisory panel to help the Office of Financial Management conduct it. Burrell said the members may be appointed as early as this week.

"I'm optimistic that maybe we can find an agreement that ends the fighting," said Dennis Eagle, a lobbyist for the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents Fircrest workers. "What Gregoire did was she called a political timeout. This stops the downsizing at Fircrest, but it's not adding [patients] either."

The fight over Fircrest is contained within a small community of advocates for the disabled, but it has become fierce.

Fircrest supporters describe it as an efficient and highly skilled center, and they protested — in court and in the Legislature — when Fircrest residents were transferred from the facility against the wishes of their family members and guardians. More than half of the 61 residents moved from Fircrest were sent to the Rainier School in Buckley, Pierce County.

The state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), which runs Fircrest, exacerbated tensions by eliminating the guardians' right to appeal such transfers in an emergency rule change announced on Christmas Eve 2003.

Sandy Hansen's son, John Burke, moved to Fircrest 2 ½ years ago for temporary respite care. Burke, 58, had lived in another institution and in a group home before moving in with her, but Hansen said her son had to leave when a change in his medications made him violent.

Burke was formally admitted on Friday, ending his temporary status. It's the first admission to Fircrest since September 2002.

"The staff at the group home, they weren't able to take care of him," said Hansen, 77. "[Fircrest] has the staff that is trained to handle these blowups. There is no other place for him to go."

Other advocates, including the ARC of Washington State, which advocates for the rights of citizens with developmental disabilities, call for the closure of Fircrest and its four sister institutions, arguing that the facilities consume scarce funding that could be spread more thinly and evenly.

There are an estimated 9,000 people waiting to get state-subsidized in-home care from DSHS, advocates say, while the average yearly cost to house a resident at Fircrest is $177,000.

Ed Holen, director of the state Developmental Disabilities Council, said he understands Gregoire's desire for a comprehensive review but thinks the state should have closed Fircrest last session. With a broader review under way, the state could decide to close other institutions, leaving just one on each side of the Cascade Mountains.

It also should reflect "that we have unserved people whose needs are just put on hold," Holen said, referring to the waiting lists. "How long can you do that before they develop into a real crisis?"

While giving Fircrest a reprieve, the Legislature also cut about 2 percent of the $148 million budget for the five state institutions. Bob Schaffer, budget director for the state developmental-disabilities division, said the five superintendents are being asked to find "efficiencies."

At Fircrest, the cut will be harder to absorb because some maintenance was delayed in expectation that the institution would close.

"It's like letting your house go for two or three years, but now we're staying and have to put that new roof on," he said.

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com