Will two schools, whose staffs and student bodies are currently divided over the school district's plan to co-locate them, be able to maintain strong academic communities and increase collaboration among its teaching staffs?

Principal of Denny Middle School, Jeff Clark, believes so.

"The academic opportunities that will be possible will further enhance our ability to provide each student with a rigorous and personalized learning experience, as we prepare them all for college and lifelong learning-they deserve nothing less," said Clark.

Based on surveys, more than 50 percent of Denny staff supports the plan to be rebuilt next to Chief Sealth High, and about 68 percent of Denny students favor the School Board's co-location plan.

But over at Sealth, it's a very different story.

Amid overwhelming opposition from Sealth staff and students, the Seattle School Board voted 5-2 last week in favor of moving forward with the plan to build a "state of the art" Denny next to the high school, which will receive significant safety and classroom upgrades.

The opposition to the plan at Sealth is strong. More than 90 percent of staff has signed a petition against it and 100 students recently staged a walkout in the middle of the school day.

Nearly everyone that spoke in the public comment period at last week's board meeting was against the merger.

But the board approved the plan and a transfer of $10 million from Building Excellence III funds in order to give Sealth more academic and classroom upgrades than the original $125 million voter-approved capital project.

The board considered either sticking with the initial project approved by voters last year; rebuild Denny next to Sealth and make major structural and safety upgrades to the high school, or adding money for Sealth; and a third option, rebuild Denny at its current location and make only life safety upgrades to Sealth.

Option three, favored by most Sealth staff and students, would have required an extra $15 million in funds and delay the project up to two years to re-design Denny and get the necessary permits.

Board members Mary Bass and Harium Martin-Morris voted against the funding reallocation, while Michael DeBell, Peter Maier, Sherry Carr, Cheryl Chow and Steve Sundquist gave their approval.

Director Carr said she trusts there's good potential for academic enhancement at both schools through a shared campus model and that she could not reconcile a multi-million dollar loss of buying power if the project were to be delayed.

"I believe the project is sound," Carr said. "This is a decision over which reasonable people will disagree. You are all reasonable people and you clearly don't agree."

Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson told the board she favored a co-located campus because of the potential academic benefits. The district cites academic benefits to be planned collaboration among teachers and students, peer tutoring and lower dropout rates, among others.

Maier said adding funds to the shared campus project is the best option for both schools. The next opportunity for significant improvements to Sealth could be as late as 2020, as many of the district's aging elementary and middle schools are up next for major renovations, he said.

Opponents have questioned the academic merits of a combined campus and are concerned about safety issues with putting middle and high schoolers in the same area. Some also say it's not fair Sealth would be the only high school in the district not to receive a full renovation.

New board member Martin-Morris said he was voting against the motion because he campaigned on a promise that his decisions would be based on whether it "helped students learn and teachers teach."

"For me, option two does not reach that bar," he said. I do want to be fiscally responsible. But I really do have to think about the students first."

The extra $10 million will be used for various interior and exterior improvements to Sealth, to be determined by staff and the board later.

District staff said funds would come from some infrastructure and technology projects in the current Building Excellence III program. These projects would likely be restored in the next capital improvement bond, said Don Gilmore, project manager for the district's capital programs.

DeBell said there are always "tradeoffs" with capital programs and that adding funds on the Sealth end will put it closer to what the board had intended before construction cost escalation eroded the project.

"Ultimately, it's up to the community to embrace this school or not ..." he said.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com