High-stakes competition for vacant Seattle elementary school

Martin Luther King Elementary in Madison Valley doesn't look like much these days.

Dusty windows and overgrown weeds are just a couple signs that the school has sat vacant since 2006, when it closed due to shrinking enrollment.

But in recent months, the 1.9-acre site has become the focus of a high-stakes bidding competition.

Four groups are vying for the property on East Republican Street: an African-American church, a neighborhood group, a special-needs school, and the private Bush School next door. All have submitted proposals to the Seattle School Board.

Around the city, many former school buildings are being used as community centers or to house nonprofits. With the MLK site, the board is expected to vote in the next three months, but it faces a thorny decision.

Given its budget crunch, the board could go for the highest bidder — the Bush School, which plans to raze the building and build athletic fields. Or, it could select one of the three others, whose sponsors pledge to keep the building and preserve a remnant of this historically African-American community.

It's unclear which direction the School Board will go. Talks remain in executive session, meaning no one can air opinions publicly at this point, said Michael DeBell, board president.

Here's a brief rundown of the four proposals outlined during a board meeting this month:

• The First AME Church on 14th Avenue, home to one of the city's largest black congregations, bid $2.4 million, and wants to expand its community programs. The church plans to run Head Start classes out of the building, as well as a variety of youth activities.

• The Citizens for a Community Center at Martin Luther King (CCC@MLK) is made up of residents from the Central District and Madison Valley. The group wants to turn the school into a center serving "youth, families and lifelong learners." It bid $2.4 million.

• Hamlin-Robinson is a school in South Seattle serving first- through eighth-graders with dyslexia or other language-related difficulties. Officials want to expand and create a "comprehensive center" for educating students with dyslexia. They bid $3.2 million.

• The Bush School bid $3.75 million and plans to convert the entire site into athletic fields and a playground.

The School Board is looking at the money but will also take into account community benefit, public access and how an organization will help further youth education, said Ron English, deputy general counsel and property manager for Seattle Public Schools.

"Fiscal prudence is our guideline," English said. But the other issues are just as important, he said.

In the quest to buy the MLK school, those who can't go above the minimum price of $2.4 million are crossing their fingers.

"Bush can afford the highest bid, so if you're a business person you think, 'OK, this is easy,' " said Ted Howard Sr., a board member at First AME. "But on the other hand, [Bush is] going to tear down the school. There will be nothing left other than a picture."

Adrienne Bailey, president of CCC@MLK, said it's imperative the board look at the long-term impact on the neighborhood — and not just at the highest bidder.

"Are you going to throw the community out with the bathwater in favor of the dollar?" Bailey asked.

Frank Magusin, head of the K-12 Bush School, said administrators studied current and future needs and concluded that athletic fields were sorely lacking.

"We have to rent fields all over town," Magusin said. "Having athletic fields would be a huge boon to our program."

However, he said, "I'm in the education business. I know how students and alumni feel when we have to tear down buildings."

Magusin said the school would retain the name on the property and call it the Martin Luther King Jr. playfields. The fields would be open for public use during certain days and times, he said.

Bush felt it had to be aggressive on price, because it's the only place left for the campus to expand, he said. But, he added, the School Board's decision will not be easy.

"There are a lot of political issues to consider, as well as financial ones," Magusin said.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com