Category: School District

Tonight! Renton School Board considering their next eminent domain taking (part of ball field relocation)

Written by Randy Corman 9 Comments
Google Street view of 402 S. Tobin Street, the subject of tonight’s School Board meeting and public hearing

As part of their plan to expand the Renton High School site all the way north to Airport Way and east to Logan Avenue, Renton School District has been working to acquire thirty-two homes and eight businesses.

The School District’s negotiators have been using the threat of eminent domain to encourage owners to sell, but they can’t actually proceed with eminent domain on a property until the final authority is specifically given by the School Board.

At a meeting tonight, the School District’s property acquisition team will be seeking this final authority to forcibly take another pretty and historic home at 402 S Tobin Street.  This home is currently treasured by its owner as a personal residence full of precious memories, and it sits on a triple-size lot in an area that allows six homes per lot (maybe 18 total) under the new “missing middle” legislation, so “just compensation” will be incredibly hard to determine if the eminent domain action is approved.  This home would be flattened to make room for a relocated baseball field, one that  may be the most costly high school baseball field in our nation’s history.

They’ve already approved other eminent domain actions, including one that denied Renton a world-class Chihuly-style Glass Studio that would have taught our youth and adults how to make artistic glass creations.  And while they point to a 2022 bond approval as their public authority to take all this property, their official election information prior to the vote mislead the public on the District’s plans.

The School District is also already 126 million dollars short of the funds they need to take all this property, replace the school, and relocate these ballfields, unless they take it from money we’ve approved specifically for safety and security upgrades at the district’s thirty other schools.

The meeting starts at 6:00 tonight at the School District Headquarters at 300 SW 7th Street.  There will be time for audience comment before the School Board takes action on the eminent domain authority being requested by the School Superintendent in this resolution.

More information can be found on the School District’s website here.

The full resolution can be found here

 

Renton School District served with Freedom of Information Request regarding property takings

Written by Randy Corman 7 Comments
Opening paragraph of five-page freedom of information request

The Renton School District has been served with a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for records regarding the taking of business property for the expansion of Renton High School.

The formal request was officially submitted by Piper O’Neill,  partner in the world-class Chihuly-style “GlassEye” Studios that was making arrangements to locate to Airport Way in Renton before Renton School District initiated an eminent domain action to take their building.

Under our State’s open public meetings and public records acts, virtually all correspondence sent or received by local elected officials regarding official agency business are considered public records.  The same is true for most other agency records.  This request seeks relevant correspondence generally dating back to September 1, 2023.

The full Public Records Request can be found here.

Glass Eye Studios was preparing to introduce Renton to Chihuly Style Glass creation in a new Renton Studio.
A current Glass Eye facility where art is created for shipment all over the world, and students learn the art of glass blowing

 

Renton School District falsely claims taxes are dropping while they are are rapidly increasing

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments
Renton School District sends out regular mailers telling us they are reducing our costs.  They base their analysis on a non-existent (magic?) house that did not increase in value from 2016 to 2024.   Can we really trust them to educate our children when they present data in such a misleading way?

 

In reality, the taxes for the school district are rising quickly.  This is a typical Renton Highlands house (owned by my son) valued at $723,000 in 2025. This house appreciated at a normal rate with all the others, with no remodeling.  The local school taxes went up significantly, not down $1500.

With Renton School District spending millions of dollars in controversial ways, it’s important for everyone to understand how much tax we really pay into the Renton School District.

Contrary to the District’s published statements that typical taxes have gone down $1500 over ten years, Renton’s local school taxes have actually been going up fast, rising by many hundreds of dollars per year for a typical home during this time.

Continue reading →

Renton High School is already $126 million over voter-approved budget, before inflation, rezones, lawsuits, and tariffs

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments
Renton voters approved a new Renton High School at a new location, with this concept drawing illustrating the school potentially at the former headquarters of Wizards of the Coast on Lind Ave. Some of the office buildings are repurposed in this rendering. This was estimated to cost $441 Million. The School Board is instead implementing a rejected (not voter-approved) concept of a new school at the current high school site, for a cost of $568 million plus rapidly escalating land acquisition and other costs.

Following the Uvalde Texas School Shooting in May 2022, Renton School District prepared a School Bond Proposition to pay for prudent safety and security upgrades, to protect our children.  $182 million would be spent district-wide on entry point access controls, security systems, and video cameras, along with earthquake improvements and overdue heating and ventilating system replacements.  The District also felt it was time to make a major upgrade to Renton High School, and they proposed relocating it as the cost-effective option that also preserved the historic Renton High buildings for other purposes. 64% of Renton voters ultimately approved this measure, including me and my extended family.

Continue reading →

False front; Historic Renton High will be reduced to a facade instead of promised preservation

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment

Everyone who’s enjoyed the Universal Studios Tour in Los Angeles can tell you about the Hollywood magic that can make you believe a facade is a whole building.  The Courthouse in “Back to the Future” is a good example.

Our historic Renton High School will soon be another example of this type of illusion, with engineers and architects working to figure out how to support the front facade of the building while tearing down the building behind it.

The “Back to the Future” courthouse, seen from above

But voters did not ask for our century-old Renton High School building to be reduced to a Hollywood false front.  Voters clearly wanted the building saved.  The November 2022 ballot directed voters to the School District website for details about the ballot issue, which explicitly read “We will not take down the current Renton High School (we will continue to find uses for this building).”

Continue reading →

The Renton High grad that made the music we grew up with

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

Renton High Grad Ron Hicklin, class of 1956, was performing with his quartet ” the Eligibles” when he recorded the very-familiar Gilligan’s Island theme song that is used in all the color seasons of the TV show.

Renton High grad Ron Hicklin, second from left, singing tenor in his group “The Eligibles” before their Gilligan’s Island recording

 

As I learn more about the plans to tear down our century-old Renton High School, I was preparing to write a post about the school’s incredible history and distinguished alumni.

Then I decided that one of Renton’s High’s talented distinguished graduates had such a miraculous music career that he deserved his own introduction.  We’ve all heard him singing countless times,  and yet many might not recognize his name because his music was often uncredited by design.  Ron Hicklin, 1956 Renton High grad, and his studio singers were the voices of the Partridge Family, the Brady Bunch, and other TV and cartoon bands that we heard as we were growing up.

Continue reading →

Beautiful $11,500,000 Renton High Science Center, completed last year, to be demolished

Written by Randy Corman 5 Comments
The top floor of the Science building in Renton High was remodeled in 2024 at a cost of 11.5 million dollars, and is now scheduled to be torn down as part of Renton High School replacement

Renton School District just used taxpayer bond proceeds that we approved in 2019 to complete a $11,500,000 upgrade in the science building of Renton High School.  The School Board is now making plans to tear this building down.

There are about 1,300 students at Renton High, attending for four years.  So during the approximately four years this Science Center will have a chance to be used, it will have cost about $8,800 per student to make this upgrade (11.5 million/1300 students).  Along with other pictures below, I’ve included a photo of the “before” condition of the science classrooms; they were remodeled in 2000 and certainly still look serviceable.

Continue reading →

Upcoming “Missing Middle” zoning changes complicate School District property acquisition

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments
By state law, Renton has to complete a city-wide rezone by June 30th to include duplex, 4-plex, and 6-plex options in many single family zones. The closer the property is to transit and the city core, the greater the potential density.

 

As described in my previous post, Renton School District is actively pursuing property adjacent to Renton High School to relocate their baseball facility (at a possible cost of 100 million dollars).  The targeted property owners describe the School District’s agents like bill collectors– phoning them at all hours, knocking on their doors, and mailing them urgent and frightening messages.  The District hopes to complete their acquisitions soon, in April.

While some property owners have capitulated under the pressure and accepted a District offer, other property owners say they are being low-balled, and have vowed not to go down without a fight.   These fighting-residents are seeking appraisals to counter what some describe as dismal or even predatory offers from the district.

Continue reading →

Renton High’s proposed baseball field could be the nation’s most expensive ever

Written by Randy Corman 19 Comments
The new baseball complex would be built where homes and businesses are now. This chart comes from this Renton School District Presentation

The Renton School District is on a buying binge, going after 42 business properties and single-family homes to amass ten acres to move their baseball field.  They’re apparently surprised by the high prices, and are starting to use eminent domain to take properties.  With many multi-million dollar properties in the mix, one of them reaching 6 million dollars, the school district could potentially end up spending 60-80 million dollars on this property before they are through.  Then they will have to pay to close several city streets, relocating all the utilities.  They’ll also have substantial demolition costs, and environmental cleanup costs for some of the properties.  And they will have archaeological preservation costs, as this former Black River riparian zone may have significant historical artifacts.  All told, they could spend 80-90 million on site procurement and preparation before they even start work on the baseball field.

This means Renton High’s new baseball field could exceed the costs of our nation’s most over-the-top high school football stadiums, even before we install the first bleacher.  That almost certainly makes it the nation’s most expensive high school baseball field.

Continue reading →

Renton city officials cannot duck responsibility in School District plan to evict residents

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments
Sarah Becker asks for Council assistance regarding the taking of property near Renton High School

Many long-time residents are being forcibly evicted from their homes by a new ballfield being built with the rebuild of Renton High School.  These residents have been seeking assistance from Renton’s Council and Mayor in recent City Council meetings.  City officials keep ducking the spotlight, either saying nothing or insisting it’s the School District’s jurisdiction.  This is a shirking of their responsibility, for half a dozen reasons.

Continue reading →

Renton High neighborhood property takings; we did not vote to condemn all these homes

Written by Randy Corman 7 Comments
Many Renton School supporters feel they are being “Gaslighted” when  told by district leaders that they voted to expand Renton High School into the neighborhood, taking 40 homes and businesses

Summary: Renton voters were not told before the election that homes and businesses would be taken if the 2022 Renton High School bond issue passed.  And the District has attempted to confuse the public about this by changing the description of the bond issue on their website after the election.

Like the majority of Renton voters, I’ve always voted “YES” when asked for more funding by the Renton School District.  Our children are our future, and they deserve the best start in life that we can give them.

But about a year ago I had an unexpected online disagreement with the husband of a School Board member, when I learned about the neighborhood that is being forcibly taken and destroyed to support the school expansion.  He seemed to think it was common knowledge that the mass condemnations were going to happen, and I said I was not in favor of it.  I had thought the school was going to move if we approved the bond issue.  His comments sent me to the School District’s website to get my facts straight.

Well, it turns out, the School District CHANGED the details of what we voted for, after the election.

Continue reading →

When is condemnation appropriate? My personal experience with eminent domain

Written by Randy Corman 14 Comments
Renton High, 1938. Ten years later Renton Memorial Stadium was built on 17 acres nearby, to provide the high school with a football and track stadium. The School Board voted this week to use eminent domain to enlarge this school site into the neighborhood around it.

I’ve been writing about eminent domain on two topics, the Renton School District  and the proposed Asphalt Plant.  In this post I share some of my personal background being on both sides of eminent domain actions, and discuss a little about when I think it is an appropriate tool.

Being on the receiving end:

My wife Cathy and I were on the receiving end of a condemnation action in 1988. We challenged the “public necessity” in Superior Court and won, but that does not always happen. The experience led to my 28-year service on Renton City Council.

I have been impacted by an eminent domain action directed at me and my wife in the past. That experience helps me understand what it is like being the subject of an eminent domain taking.  Our trial also helped set a judicial precedent on the definition of “necessity,” that, according to my attorney, was cited in many later cases.

Continue reading →

Renton School Board, with minimal discussion, sends world-class glass studio packing

Written by Randy Corman 5 Comments
Billy O’Neill, “Dale Chihuly’s right hand man,” (in white sneakers) selecting the large facility on Airport Way for his decorative glass making studio.  The venue was going to teach youth and adults the art of Chihuly style glass making.  The large open-bay building features the same old-growth historic bowstring-trusses that caused our city council to save the Pavilion building in the 1990s.

It was a dream come true for Renton’s Arts Community, our youth, and our Economic Development department. A world-class glass studio was relocating to Renton, headed up by the vice-president and operations manager of Chihuly’s workshop in Seattle.  Billy O’Neill, who Seattle Times calls Dale Chihuly’s right hand man, was working on a gift for Renton that would have taught new generations of Rentonites how to create beautiful glass sculptures and containers.  Mr. O’Neill  has served on the Seattle Arts Commission, as secretary on the Executive Board of Directors of the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and on advisory boards for the Seattle Sounders and other non-profits– a perfect fit in Renton.  He was instrumental in creating Chihuly’s Garden of Glass at Seattle Center.

But the exciting glass art studio fell victim to a School District Eminent Domain taking, along with numerous other businesses and homes, with no acknowledgment by the School Board of the glass studio’s extraordinary significance.

The business, called “Glass Eye” already has a permanent sales location at Pike Place Market, which would have soon been selling the Made in Renton glassworks.  We would have a new Made-in-Renton products we could share with visitors and far-away family, to replace our much-missed Uptown Glassworks.

Continue reading →

Public Hearing tonight on School District use of Eminent Domain for Renton High School

Written by Randy Corman 4 Comments
A home on Tillucum Street in Renton; one of many that the School District is attempting to purchase to build a new softball field

 

As I’ve discussed previously in this article concerning Renton Airport, the Renton School District has been buying up properties north and east of Renton High School to expand the school’s site.

Some owners of homes and business owners have reached an agreement with the district– reluctantly in some cases.  The map below shows the status of the purchases to date. Some of the early agreements were commercial or rental properties, which are somewhat easier to price.

But there are many homeowners shocked and saddened that the district is pressing them to turn over their homes.  Some of them have preserved the property in their families for many years, and some are families who financially stretched to buy a home of their own.  This neighborhood’s residents have have been part of the fabric of our downtown for decades, and many are deeply rooted in our schools, clubs and other organizations.  For most, their homes are not just a roof and four walls on a lot– they are their histories, futures, hopes, dreams, and connections.

Continue reading →

Renton School District on collision course with Renton Airport jet center, with residents caught in the middle

Written by Randy Corman 10 Comments
An extension of Renton airport (left) would put the runway and taxiway right into Renton High School (right), which is about to undergo a half-billion dollar rebuild.

 

In 2020 the City of Renton worked diligently with the FAA to avoid an airport reclassification which would have required Renton to extend our runway and taxiway one-thousand feet into Renton High School and the nearby homes and businesses.  The arguments Renton made to avoid the extension leaned heavily on the fact that almost all our air traffic was lightweight propeller aircraft with just one or two carefully-orchestrated new 737 takeoffs per day.  We barely prevailed….if the jet operations had been any more numerous, we would have needed to extend the airport into the neighborhood and school.

Today, to the dismay of impacted residents, Renton School District is purchasing and/or condemning much of the same neighborhood property that we protected in 2020, in order to amass land for a half-billion dollar rebuild of Renton High School.  (The average Renton household will pay about $1000 per year in additional property tax for 22 years to fund this rebuild.)

Continue reading →