News Updates

2008: The Future of the Fauntleroy School 
Update on potential building acquisition by FCSA Fauntleroy Community Service Agency Board of Directors for the Fauntleroy Children’s Center

July 9, 2008
It has been a rather quiet month, with negotiations and discussions progressing. There is not a lot to report at this time.

Negotiations with the District are still underway, although they slowed down in the past month, due to vacation schedules. The deadline to reach a purchase and sale agreement is still August, although we remain confident that as long as all parties are moving forward in good faith, there should be some leeway with that date. There are some very beginning conversations with King County about possible siting of a combined sewer overflow underground holding talk in the back lot. This was raised in the past week, so this is very vague at this time. The formal application for landmark designation should be complete with the next few weeks – we will let you know when it is submitted and scheduled for hearing by the Landmarks Board.

We will report back within the next month with any new details.

Update: June 9, 2008

In late April, FCSA made the decision to move forward with an offer to the Seattle School District. Negotiations are currently underway.  FCSA engaged the services of a negotiator who, along with FCSA board members, have met several times with the District’s representative; topics discussed include terms of the potential property acquisition, schedule for negotiations, and potential development of the back portion of the site.

The District has extended the deadline to reach a purchase and sale agreement to August.

It is possible the back lot may be developed; FCSA has been discussing what kind of development, who would own the property, who would receive payment for the development rights, and ensuring that any development would be compatible with the tenants and uses in the school.

The City and State have allocated some funds for the acquisition of the site and discussions are ongoing with City and State staff and elect officials regarding this funding.

FSCA is working with intern and City staff to prepare a formal application for landmark designation and city staff has been very encouraging that the entire building could be eligible for designation.

2007 News:

Residents Give Direction to
Schoolhouse Project

Guests at the April 29 open house at the Fauntleroy schoolhouse voted overwhelmingly to save and enhance the schoolhouse and prevent residential and/or commercial development of the site.

An estimated 100 people attended the event to recall the school's past, see current activities, and imagine a future for the five-acre site in the heart of Fauntleroy. They included many school alumni, two former principals, families associated with the childcare center, and area residents.

When asked for an up-or-down vote on several options, guests were for community amenities and against commercial and residential uses. They showed no support for townhouses or single-family homes and almost none for commercial below with housing above. What drew the most votes were recreational activities (such as basketball and playfields), environmental education, and a community garden.

When asked to refine their thinking, assuming that current uses (childcare center, dance studio, and caterer) continue, several guests suggested a performance/theater space, art classes, and more small businesses and non-profits. Education programs also found favor.

In addition to touring the site and voting, some 80 guests registered to stay in touch with the project. Many of those also expressed an interest in helping in some way, from telephoning to fund-raising.

The open house was hosted by the Fauntleroy Community Association, Fauntleroy Children's Center, Fauntleroy Community Service Agency, Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering, and Seattle Dance Studio, with assistance from the Fauntleroy YMCA and Fauntleroy Church.

The open-house steering committee expressed special thanks to childcare-center and dance teachers who prepared and opened their classrooms to guests, to Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes for providing first-class refreshments, and to the church for having its after-service coffee hour at the schoolhouse.

The service agency (which leases the property from the Seattle School District) is expecting to sign a six-month contract with the Cascade Land Conservancy to take the next step. The conservancy will complete background research, hear more from the community, articulate priorities, and draft an action plan. The partnership that came together to stage the open house will help carry that vision forward.

"The challenges of purchasing and maintaining a property of this size are enormous without some consideration to sensitive development," said Kevin Wooley, president of the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency. "We'll be asking the community to think creatively about how the property could generate more ongoing revenue, while maintaining the building's character and supporting the childcare center and businesses that are already tenants."

History of Public Education in Fauntleroy

The first school in Fauntleroy opened in 1906 in a store-front school for grades 1-3. In 1908, the neighborhood was annexed into Seattle. The school operated for the 1909-10 academic year as an annex to South Seattle School (now the South Seattle Playground) and, the following year, as an annex to Gatewood School.

After the storefront burned in 1911, the school relocated to two portables at 45th Ave. S.W. and Wildwood Place and expanded to include grade 4. Older children attended Gatewood.

In 1915, residents petitioned the school board to purchase land near the newly constructed Fauntleroy Church and gymnasium, which it did in 1916. Construction was completed late in 1917 and students began classes there in two rooms in February 1918 - still as an annex of Gatewood. By 1919, the school offered Grades 1-8 and became independent of Gatewood.

With the transfer of 7th and 8th grades to Madison Junior High when that school opened in 1929, Fauntleroy's enrollment fell well below the minimum of 280 to warrant its own principal. The school operated under a head teacher until 1942-43, when enrollment grew to 311 and a portable was brought in. A principal was reinstated in fall 1943.

When the baby boom after World War II pushed enrollment over 400, the building was remodeled in 1950 and expanded by five classrooms, an auditorium-lunchroom, and a rainy-day playroom. Also that year, Arbor Heights School opened an as annex of Fauntleroy.

By 1952, attendance had soared to 525 and some classes had to meet across the street at the church and gymnasium. Four more classrooms, plus a gymnasium, were completed early in 1953, and the student body again consolidated in the schoolhouse.

Enrollment reached a high of 700 in 1954-55 and began a gradual decline as demographics of the neighborhood changed. Under the district's desegregation plan, started in 1978-79, Fauntleroy became a K-3 school, with older students going to Roxhill and Dunlap. When enrollment declined to 175 in 1980-81, the school district closed and mothballed the school.

In the fall of 1981, the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency (formed by residents in 1978 to offer full-service day care) leased the entire school building and began operating a portion of it as the Fauntleroy Children's Center. The agency sublets the rest of the space to a catering company, dance studio, and other small businesses.

In 2007, as the school district edged toward selling the five-acre site, residents again stepped forward, launching an effort to preserve the school as a community resource through purchase or long-term lease of the property.

About the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse

• Owner: Seattle School District since construction in 1917
• Leaser: Fauntleroy Community Service Agency since 1981
• Property: 5 acres (including building site and playground)
• Building size: 50,000 square feet
• Zoning: Single Family 5000
• Largest nonprofit tenant: Fauntleroy Children's Center
• Largest for-profit tenant: Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering/The Hall at Fauntleroy
• Outdoor tenant: West Seattle Nursery (plant storage)

Total assessed value, 2007: $3,504,100 (land and improvements)

Contact Us: fauntleroychildrenscenter@yahoo.com or 206-932-9590

The FCA'S Position
The Fauntleroy Community Association has endorsed the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency's (FCSA's) plan  to purchase the Fauntleroy School building from the Seattle Public School District.  Both organizations recognize that the school building is a keystone of our community.  The schools district's historian captured some of its amazing history in a essay published online at www.seattleschools.org/area/historybook/fauntleroy.pdf.  Our community's identity is at stake. 

The FCSA's goal in purchasing the school building and adjacent properties is to continue operation of Fauntleroy Children's Center and retain current tenants including Seattle Civic Dance Theatre and Tuxedos and Tennis shoes, the catering company that operates the Hall at Fauntleroy.  In raising funds for the purchase, the FCSA has an opportunity to make improvements to the building that will maintain its historic value. 

The school district provided FCSA with a market appraisal, and the FCSA will respond by offering a price and timeline for payment.  On May 12, the school district held a public meeting at the Hall at Fauntleroy to received community input on the sale.  The West Seattle Blog summarized this meeting online.  Go to www.westseattleblog.com and search on Fauntleroy School for more information.  The school district expects to complete the purchase and sale agreement on May 18, received earnest money in mid-June, execute a contract in late fall 2008, and receive payment in full over a three year period.  As with many contractual and political matters, this timeline could be adjusted as negotiations get underway.  Join us as we work to preserve our historic school building, ensuring its future and our community landmark in perpetuity.  For further information, contact Vicki Schmitz-Block at v.schmitz@comcast.net.

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