Northwest Center optimistic about future despite no clear plan from school district

Northwest Center is getting closer to finding a new and possibly permanent home, since they were given what they called a surprise notice-to-vacate from their Queen Anne location by Seattle Public Schools.

The notice-to-vacate was given back in December of 2013, after 28 years in a building it has leased from the district. While the lease was set to expire, Northwest Center, a non-profit, was surprised by the district’s decision to not renew it.

Specifically, internal district emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show Seattle Public Schools had been discussing plans for the Queen Anne building for nearly two years while at the same time telling Northwest Center officials that they had no plans.

Since then, the district has suggested many options. At one point, Superintendent Jose Banda proposed a six-month lease extension but took that off the table soon after.

Without a clear plan for the district, Northwest Center’s CEO Tom Everill said they’ve been working non-stop to find their own solution.

“At about 90 days into the crisis, we’ve been able to identify a couple of options. One of which is a building that we would be interested in purchasing as a permanent home for Northwest Center kids for the next 50 years,” said Everill.

The other option is a backup plan, another lease option. Everill would prefer purchasing a building so that they don’t end up in the same situation they’re in now.

“We want to give our families and our community a sense of permanence and we think they deserve it. It’s been a very, very anxious time for families that already are carrying an above-average level of challenge in their lives,” said Everill.

Whether Northwest Center purchases or leases their next home, one thing that hasn’t changed is that they need more time. Everill said they’ve asked the district to give them until November 1 to move out of their north Queen Anne site – a lease extension of four months.

“The scope of the problem has shrunk considerably, we know Seattle Public Schools needs their building back and we know they have a very complex schedule but we need to work together and, in fact we are. [Banda] reached out to me, we have a meeting scheduled for a week from Monday, on April 28th, to work on the issue, I feel like we’re making good progress,” said Everill.

Despite major disappointments from the district since their surprise notice-to-vacate was given, Everill said they’re going to keep on the district because they have a duty to protect their students.

“In a big system like this, we can find four months and so I’m going into the meeting in an optimistic frame of mind,” Everill said. “We’ll see what happens.”