By KATE MARTIN
Staff Writer
BURLINGTON — A school for troubled boys will open four group homes in Skagit County, the first of which will be in the Burlington-Edison School District.
It’s the beginning of a transition for Secret Harbor that will leave its Cypress Island campus vacant by summer 2008.
The new plan has Secret Harbor children dispersed across several school districts, a strategy that Secret Harbor’s administration hopes will avoid the previous “not in my backyard” battles. Group homes with six or fewer residents don’t require a permit or public notification.
But the group’s plan to move the first six boys into a newly acquired residence in the Burlington-Edison School District has caught officials there by surprise. Superintendent Rick Jones says he isn’t opposed to having the high-cost children in the district, he just wishes he had more time to prepare.
Secret Harbor is home to two dozen boys who have endured years of sexual and physical abuse and neglect. Most are wards of the state, many have behavioral or mental problems, and they pose too much of a challenge for foster homes, President and CEO Brian Carroll said.
The Cypress Island campus houses boys, aged 12 to 17, structures their lives and helps put them back on the path to a normal life. The nonprofit Secret Harbor sold its Cypress Island property to the state earlier this year and had then looked to the old Northern State Hospital campus as a possible new location. But Sedro-Woolley school officials balked at the potential cost of taking on the Secret Harbor children.
The organization then purchased property in Whatcom County and encountered similar resistance from the Mount Baker School District as well as from residents of homes near the proposed site.
Carroll said it has been hard to find a new home for the program because of a pervasive “not in my backyard” mentality. So the strategy changed, and early this year, Carroll said the nonprofit group would move boys into separate homes throughout the county. That way, he said, the burden would be shared by all districts instead of just one.
Three weeks ago, Burlington- Edison Superintendent Rick Jones learned that six boys from Secret Harbor are moving into the district in January.
The concern, he said, is that it’s all moving too fast.
“We’re definitely nervous,” Jones said, “We’re not saying ‘not in our backyard.’ We’re not saying ‘go somewhere else.’ We’re saying ‘we welcome them.’ We’re saying ‘give us time to do justice for their needs.’”
Jones knows little about the boys who will live there.
The boys could be either middle- or high-school-aged; Jones said his district might be able to choose. He said he’s unsure whether the boys may or may not have severe behavior problems.
Are the other students going to be in danger?
“That would depend on the profiles of the students when they get there,” Jones said.
And then there is the cost.
Expense is an issue
The Anacortes School District has been responsible for teaching the boys at their Cypress Island campus. District officials said that last year, the boys cost, on average, more than $30,000 each to educate. It costs about $4,500 to educate an average student, district officials said.
Maggie Thompson, director of intervention programs and student support services for Anacortes School District, manages the case files of the boys at Secret Harbor. The boys are considered residents of the school district, and as such, the district also pays all of the bills related to their education.
Last year, the cost amounted to $739,329 for an average of 24 boys.
“Special education is never fully funded,” Thompson said. “There is always an issue around serving kids that cost us a lot of money and not having money. Basically, that obligation falls back on the district.”
Much of that is picked up by the state, Thompson said. But it’s an expensive program, and the district applies for reimbursement, called “safety-net money,” through the state every year.
Jones said he’s concerned about the funding process for special education. Right now, school districts have to front the money to pay for high-needs students, of which the Secret Harbor boys are a part. Districts can apply for the safety-net money, for students that cost more than $15,000 per year. But there are no guarantees of any reimbursement, Jones said.
Anacortes Superintendent Chris Borgen said the district has been “very pleased” with the education the boys get on the island. The district contracts with Northwest Educational Service District 189 to provide education to them.
The boys’ Burlington home will be on Lafayette Road, modified with a sprinkler system, new septic system and wheelchair accessibility, across from a church and a day care center.
Kaycee Connally is the director of the Berry Good School, a day care facility that was founded to care for migrant children. She said she was surprised when she heard of her newest neighbor.
But Connally said she looks forward to the time when she can learn more about the plans for the house and the residents within.
“I support the idea of having boys who maybe aren’t thriving in the community, giving them an opportunity to be in the area,” Connally said. “On paper, it’s a very good idea, and if they’re adequately supervised, I support it wholeheartedly.”
24-hour supervision
Carroll said at least one staff member will be on-site at all times; one when the boys are asleep or at school and more as needed throughout the day.
After the boys get settled in the Burlington house, three more homes will open in the county. Carroll said Secret Harbor will close on a house on Fidalgo Island within the next six weeks, and it already owns a home on Martin Road in Mount Vernon that is used as a foster home.
The new model, Carroll said, will allow Secret Harbor to serve girls as well as younger children.
“We’ll have a lot more flexibility,” he said.
Carroll said the boys will be selected for the home based on the progress they have already made on Cypress Island. The Northwest Educational Service District staff also will play a role, Carroll said.
“They will help identify the kids who will have an easier transition into the public school sector,” Carroll said.
The boys also will draft ground rules and expectations to follow while they live in the home. Carroll said as part of the transition, he hopes to get the children involved in community activities and volunteerism.
“Hopefully they will do things like volunteering at the Humane Society and volunteer at food drives,” he said. “It will be part of the program so they can give back to the community.”
Bob Jones works with the Department of Social and Human Services, the organization that funds the residential portion of Secret Harbor. Jones worked at Secret Harbor from 1969 through 1974, and while some things have changed, much has remained the same.
He said the rugged, island community was an outdoor, therapeutic experience for boys troubled by their inner demons.
“Most have been through foster care, and it hasn’t worked for one reason or another,” he said. “These kids need more structure than a family can provide.”
And Jones thinks the community can play a part.
“We need more people to reach out and take care of these kids,” he said.
Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at kmartin@skagitvalleyherald.com.