Seattle Public Schools supports 2,300 homeless students and owns 121 properties, but has never publicly discussed a state law that would let it build affordable housing on surplus land.

A Seattle Times editorial published Thursday, June 11, spotlighted the Edmonds School District's pioneering use of that law and called on other districts to follow.

For families at Ballard High School, Salmon Bay K-8, Catharine Blaine K-8, and schools across Queen Anne and Magnolia, the question remains: could stable housing be built near the schools their children already attend?

Edmonds School District Assistant Superintendent Greg Schwab and Housing Hope CEO Fred Safstrom started with a Zoom call five years ago. "We just had this conversation over a Zoom call — 'what if we did this?' What would it look like?" Schwab told the Seattle Times.

Last fall, five years to the day after that first conversation, the 21,000-student district broke ground on Scriber Place, a 52-unit apartment complex on a former baseball field next to an elementary school in Snohomish County. Housing Hope projects families will begin moving in by 2027. The lease terms: $1 per year for 75 years. Schwab says more than 700 Edmonds students could qualify under federal McKinney-Vento criteria.

The Seattle Times editorial identified Edmonds as the first district in Washington to use the provision.

The 2020 state law (SB 6265, amending RCW 28A.335.040) removed a critical barrier. Previously, any school district leasing surplus land had to include a "recapture" clause letting the district take the property back. That clause made it nearly impossible for housing developers to secure tax-credit financing. The fix eliminated the recapture requirement for affordable housing leases and applied retroactively to agreements entered on or after January 1, 2018.

SPS Board Policy 6882 allows below-market leases to nonprofits that "directly and substantially" support youth education, at rates up to 50% below fair market value. Any lease longer than five years requires School Board approval.

The district is actively managing its surplus portfolio. On Thursday, June 4, the Board held a public hearing on the proposed sale of a property at 3020 E. Yesler. The district's 2025 Facilities Master Plan classifies sites as "Non-Essential" (surplus, in long-term leases) or "Inventoried" (not needed for current capacity, available for short-term rental). But no public list of specific available surplus sites has been released.

SPS McKinney-Vento District Liaison Jeanea Proctor-Mills told the Washington House Education Committee in February 2026 that the district supports 2,300 homeless students. Statewide, the Homeless Student Stability Program was cut from $9 million to approximately $5.2 million in 2025 by the Legislature.

Every time a homeless family moves out of the district, SPS loses per-pupil state funding. The district also bears transportation costs for homeless students attending their schools of origin, as required by state and federal law. The district assigns McKinney-Vento specialists to north-end schools including Ballard High and Salmon Bay K-8 to help families navigate this instability.

No SPS official has publicly discussed using the 2020 state law to build housing on district land. Families seeking the full list of surplus properties can file a public records request at seattleschools.org/departments/legal-services/public-records-requests.

School Week Ahead

  • Friday, June 13: SPS School Board Special Meeting: Retreat, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
  • Wednesday, June 17: Last day of school, 1-hour early dismissal.
  • Wednesday, June 24: SPS Board Special Meeting (agenda to be posted 24 hours in advance at seattleschools.org)