
Seattle Mayor Tim Burgess speaks at Memorial Stadium to announce the City’s partnership with the Seattle School District, November 2017.
The City of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools today announced a historic new partnership to plan for a new Memorial Stadium and the potential of a new school at Seattle Center, provide land for a new downtown elementary school, and allow the school district to join the Fort Lawton Redevelopment Agreement process.
The agreement signed today at Memorial Stadium outlines a process for the district and the City to plan together for a growing student population, explore opportunities for the district to acquire land for educational uses at Ft. Lawton and other areas of the city, and achieve an exciting shared vision for Seattle Center. The school district and city will form joint technical teams to review school capacity issues, plan strategically for future school locations, and redesign Memorial Stadium.
The City of Seattle has added almost 100,000 residents since 2010. Nearly 8,000 additional students have enrolled in Seattle Public Schools over the last decade. The City and the district will better coordinate their planning efforts to meet future school needs for students and families.
“Making sure every one of our children has a strong, healthy, and fair start is the measure of a great city. Public education is one of the most important factors in sustaining a great city. This partnership agreement signals an even stronger relationship between the city government and Seattle Public Schools,” Mayor Tim Burgess said. “As part of our agreement, the city is committing to consider a financial partnership for Memorial Stadium’s revitalization and we will proactively help identify other potential partners. We will make land available for schools and other school-related uses. We will establish technical teams to review capacity issues and to prepare designs for the new Memorial Stadium.”