As a member of the Closure and Consolidation Committee from last spring, I read your article about Pathfinder (Nov. 29) with great interest. The committee had hoped that moving Pathfinder to the Boren building would allow them to grow and possibly co-house with a Native American group. That was not met with any enthusiasm and dropped.

Then the district proceeded to try to merge Cooper Elementary with Pathfinder into one building. That got shot down (and rightly so).

But after three different building recommendations for Pathfinder to move to, nothing has panned out. I have felt deeply disappointed for Pathfinder since it is the only K-8 and the only alternative school in all of southwest Seattle. They deserve better.

I am currently working against the upcoming capital bond measure (BEX III) in February precisely because instead of helping Pathfinder, which has been buffeted by the closure process and waited patiently for years for its turn on the capital list, the district has chosen to help a private foundation-sponsored school called New School.

I am not against public/private partnerships and New School is doing wonderful things in the Rainier Valley community. However, the building is not a great one and the New School Foundation wants a new building. It is currently co-housed in the South Shore building with the Rainier Beach Community Center. Even though their building isn't the worst in the district and they haven't had to wait as long as other school communities, the district has them on the BEX III list for a school to house 1,000 students, grades pre-K to 8 with childcare and a medical clinic that will cost $64.4 million dollars.

This will set up a situation where there will be a brand-new pre-K-8 school (New School) with another K-8 school (African American Academy, chronically under enrolled and not academically successful in a 10-year building) with an elementary school (Dunlap, also in a relatively new building), all within a mile of each other.

New School will likely marginalize African American Academy and Dunlap and to what end? Plus another private foundation wants to open a 6-12 academy to co-house with Rainier Beach High School which will be yet more competition between the two K-8s. There are other options for New School but it would take political courage to do them.

The taxpayer's money would be better spent on Pathfinder, which has never had the opportunity to blossom into the school it could be and be able to serve its community well. It's a shame.

Mel Westbrook

Green Lake