Seattle parents are concerned that their kids will be returning to schools whose campuses have been “inundated with homeless encampments” over the remote learning period, a Wednesday report shows.
Two Seattle schools, Edmond S Meany Middle School and Broadview Thomson K-8, are struggling with the growing presence of the homeless on their premises, Fox News reported. Parents of kids who are about to resume in-person learning are worried by the lack of action on the part of officials, according to Fox News.
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“I would like to see more leadership on the part of the city and I do have a teenager. He’s just really distressed about the situation,” one Seattle parent told Fox News.
“Obviously, nobody is taking the problem seriously,” Bill Steele, who lives in the neighborhood next to Broadview Thomson K-8, told KOMO News. “All parents need to speak up and let the school board know that our schools are not camp grounds.”
“You question the judgment of those in charge of keeping your children safe,” said Ryle Goodrich, a parent of a 6-year-old who is set to return to a school in the neighborhood where the encampments have sprung up. (RELATED: City In California Pays Homeless People Gift Cards To Clean Their Tents)
Seattle School Board President Chandra Hampson and Director Zachary DeWolf have demanded Democratic Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan “sweeps never occur,” according to KTTH.
Hampson and DeWolf have also issued a statement on the unacceptability of removing the encampments.
“Our students deserve to see the adults behave compassionately and responsibly in the face of a tragically mounting homelessness crisis. Sweeps are not a form of compassion nor do they demonstrate responsible adult behavior. In fact, they are decidedly inhumane and irresponsibly set people struggling with homelessness further into the margins,” the statement reads.
“I feel like sometimes the only recourse I have is to move out of Seattle,” Annie Geer, another outraged resident of the city, told KOMO.