School District unveils plan to clear homeless camp near Broadview-Thomson School
From KOMO News:
After a year of complaints about a homeless camp near a school, parents and neighbors finally heard a plan about how district officials plan to clear out the tents.
About 56 people are camped out behind Broadview Thomson K-8 and students are set to return in six weeks. Seattle Public Schools has teamed up with a one-man agency to encourage the campers to leave.
However, some parents worry it will be the status quo when the fall semester starts.
“I’m not confident,” said Zach Rozga, whose daughter is in 5th grade at Broadview Thomson. “I’ll put it that way.”
Neighbors near the school also shared their misgivings during a community meeting with district officials on Thursday night.
“I think they’re very optimistic on their plan,” said Bill Steele, who lives just a few houses away from the encampment. “I think they should have started this a lot longer ago.”lume 90%
The task is likely to have many challenges because neighbors said the list of troubles at the encampment is long.
“There’s been a lot of drug use, drug dealing,” Steele said, who has lived in the neighborhood for decades. “I’ve seen more police, more fire trucks and more ambulances on my street this year than i have in all the previous 34 years.”
The district is spending $5,000 for Mathias to begin his work but more resources may be necessary.
“If it comes to it, the district has identified some dollars that can go toward supporting this effort a little bit more,” said Liza Rankin, the school board director whose district includes Broadview Thomson.
The district plans to better secure the property to prevent future encampments. During the meeting, people asked if that means more fencing or overnight security. District officials said they were still working on those details, which raised even more skepticism.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” said Jen Oxley, another neighbor.
If campers are still living next to the school by the Sept. 1 deadline, there is a backup plan.
Mathias said he secured agreements from two nearby shelters who will make room for people if the school district has nowhere else to turn.
Mathias said he’s already making early progress. He began working on Monday and has completed needs assessments on 46 of the 56 homeless people. He said three people have already left the encampment and six more said they are ready to go as soon as shelter space is open.
