Child-Care Center Plan On View -- Spiritridge Will Be One Of Two In State To Offer Comprehensive Child Care

Tonight the Spiritridge neighborhood will get a look at plans for the second of the child-care centers Bellevue residents approved in up to 14 district elementary schools by 2000.

An $11 million bond issue to build the groundbreaking centers was approved last February by margins ranging from 67 percent to 76 percent in the neighborhoods surrounding the 14 schools.

The tuition-based centers will be the first in the state to provide comprehensive child care, ranging from infant and preschool to before- and after-school care for elementary-age children.

Woodridge and Spiritridge were selected for the first two 5,000-square foot centers, scheduled to open next January. Administrators presented three options for siting the Woodridge center last Monday.

The district has proposed only one site at Spiritridge, but school staffers and community residents expect to discuss many of the same design, traffic and access issues that arose at the Woodridge meeting.

And despite the approval margins, some of the Woodridge residents still opposed the sites, for reasons ranging from increased traffic to insufficient opportunity to participate in the planning.

At Woodridge, the east option would move the existing driveway, sidewalk and Southeast 20th Place crosswalk, and provide three of the recommended five drop-off parking slots.

The southwest option would cost less to develop because it is a mostly paved, flat area.

The west option is sloped and would need substantial excavation and drainage. Both the west and southwest options would provide five drop-off parking slots. The school staffers and parent Program Delivery Council are scheduled to select a site this week.

Last week, resident Susan Allen was one of a few who opposed the center out of the 100 or so who attended the Woodridge meeting. Allen and a few neighbors had distributed 1,000 fliers urging residents to attend the meeting. Allen questioned whether the center would overburden school services and neighborhood streets, and criticized the district for not holding a public meeting sooner.

Despite rumors of a groundswell of opposition, most of the audience supported the center.

"The purpose of the meeting was to hear people's input," said Jan Zuber, executive director for elementary education. "We had tried to think of every question someone would ask. We were surprised and pleased at the high level of support."

No citizen groups in the Spiritridge attendance area have formed to oppose the center plans, said Ann Oxrieder, district spokeswoman.

Centers are scheduled to open in 1994 at Eastgate and Stevenson elementary schools, Oxrieder said. The district then plans to spend 1995 evaluating the centers before deciding whether to open four more, tentatively slated for Lake Hills and Newport Heights elementary schools in 1996 and Clyde Hill and Sherwood Forest elementary schools in 1997.

------------------- SPIRITRIDGE MEETING -------------------

-- The Bellevue School District will discuss plans for building a child-care center at Spiritridge Elementary School at 7 tonight in the school multipurpose room, 16401 S.E. 24th St.