Teacher at Seattle school near encampment is fighting for ‘safety of our students’

Teachers are speaking up about a growing homeless encampment on Seattle school district property.

Rantz: Meth, trash remain as school board refuses to sweep camp

Alison Hart works with special education students at Broadview Thomson K-8, where a fence separates the school grounds from the encampment.

“Our number one priority is the safety of our students, and while we want the best for the people in the encampment, we first need to fight for the safety of our students,” Hart said.

Hart tells KTTH’s Jason Rantz Show that teachers are calling on Mayor Jenny Durkan for help. But the mayor’s office says because the camp is on district property, it’s the district’s responsibility.

In the past two months, Broadview Thomson K-8 has been on lockdown at least twice — once in April after a firearm sighting, which turned out to be a pellet gun and led to no injuries, and again in May after a worker saw someone inside that he didn’t think should be in the school. There was also recently an overdose at the encampment, though thankfully the man survived.

According to Seattle Public Schools, the camp “is not on school grounds, but on district property that is separated from the school with a secure fence.” Given its proximity to the school, students, families, and staffs are being asked to enter and exit facilities from a separate entrance along Greenwood Avenue.