Shameful Chapter in Shoreline Communty's History Beginning-Editorial

Shoreline Area News has finally posted a story about the upcoming demise of the Shoreline Historical Museum in Ronald School

Shoreline Historical Museum and Garden
photo credit-Vicki Westberg

The story presents the facts about the eviction of the museum from the 1912 Landmarked building, the Shoreline Historical Museum.

However, the dry facts do not convey the enormity of this fiasco about to be perpetrated by the Shoreline School District.

Of Paramount Importance has its own view and we believe that passion needs to be utilized to fully relay the real impacts. The facts need to be laid out, but so should the moral outrage. Here is our Editorial comment:

The Shoreline School District presented the community with a Levy and Bond choice in January 2010 and then succeeded in "snookering" everyone into supporting a $150 million dollar Bond, because of a last minute "Agreement in Principle" with the Museum, when they were likely to lose that election. The Agreement in Principle called for a joint action to move the nearly century old building less than a block. The District was to assist the Museum in that move. However, the proposed location turned out to be untenable, due to previous committments the owner had made. This fact was well known before the Agreement in Principle was inked by many community leaders.


But the Museum Board was so anxious to be "helpful", they agreed to a plan that would never come to fruition. They signed and Agreement in Principle, that sowed the seeds of their destruction.


Now they are left to move the entire collection and abandon the building they've called home since 1976.


The Shoreline School District has sold the community a bill of goods. They've convinced the voters that
a fancy new facade for Shorewood HS is more important than a community asset, their Historical Museum.  It is clear from the record that the District never had any intention of preserving the Museum. They set out to destroy it and carry out their hostile takeover of the Ronald School and evict the Museum, and used "parity" with other school districts and with Shorecrest as a ridiculous excuse.


If this comes to pass as looks likely, it will mark the most shameful chapter in the Shoreline Community's history and of the District. They've decided to put their own history in a boat and set it adrift in order to have a shiny new image.


The Shoreline School Board has gone along with this plan and they are completely responsible. The voters, including museum supporters were suckered into buying a bill of goods that includes the destruction of their most valued possession, the landmarked Ronald School housing a priceless collection.  The School Board must be held accountable for this disaster.


If citizens are upset, they can let the School Board and Shoreline Area News know their feelings.


This outcome will mark a new low point as the community tries to dig itself out of this great recession.


Shoreline will never be the same without its Shoreline Historical Museum in Ronald School. The Museum was to be a part of our Town Center and now it will be, heaven knows where.  What kind of community are we that we'd allow this to happen?


With Regrets,
Janet Way