Seattle Public Schools spent $26,400 of public school money on concrete barriers placed illegally on a public street outside its SODO headquarters.

The district bought and installed large concrete ecology blocks (eco-blocks) on Third Avenue South last summer without approval from the Seattle Department of Transportation, according to a Seattle Times investigation published July 7. SDOT confirmed it was never consulted. Placing barriers in the public right-of-way without a permit violates Seattle city law.

Ted Howard, SPS's accountability officer, initiated the project by emailing the city's Unified Care Team asking for "lasting solutions" to RVs and encampments on the street leading to district headquarters.

In his email, Howard wrote: "Each time families and staff are greeted by scenes of panhandling, open drug use, yelling, and instability, it communicates, intentionally or not, that the area is unsafe, and by extension, that our schools and city are not doing enough."

Tom Van Bronkhorst, a Seattle Parks and Recreation employee acting as a strategic adviser with the Unified Care Team, provided phone numbers for acquiring the barriers and renting a truck.

The district then arranged the eco-blocks on the street. Emails coordinating the project included members from the city's parks and human services departments and SPS leadership, but not SDOT.

The eco-blocks are part of a broader, largely unpermitted phenomenon across Seattle's industrial south end.

A University of Washington study found 2,400 eco-blocks in Georgetown alone, just south of SODO, averaging 892 per square mile. The SPS barriers remain in place as of July 2026. RVs are fewer, but people continue to set up tents around the blocks.

The SPS SODO headquarters serves all 49,000-plus students and their families in an administrative capacity. Parents visiting for enrollment appointments, special education meetings, or district events walk past the installation on Third Avenue South. The district has not disclosed which budget line funded the $26,400 expenditure.

Title I schools including Rainier Beach High School, Cleveland High School STEM, and Aki Kurose Middle School depend on already-thin per-pupil allocations. The district faces a structural budget shortfall, though the exact current figure has not been independently confirmed.

SDOT said after The Seattle Times inquiry that it was reaching out to the school district to understand its role. The enforcement process starts with a warning. Under Seattle city code, fines for unpermitted eco-blocks are $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second, and $1,000 for further violations.

SDOT stated in a 2021 letter that "the desire to prevent others from using a public space is not a valid reason for seeking a permit in and of itself."

SPS spokesperson Beverly Redmond said the district placed the eco-blocks following the Unified Care Team's advice and would follow the city's guidance about removing them.

Mayor Katie Wilson's spokesperson, Sage Wilson, said the project occurred under her predecessor Bruce Harrell but did not say whether it aligned with the current administration's policies.