SEATTLE -- A growing homeless encampment is operating on the property of a Seattle School and it's left the Bitter Lake community outraged.

Neighbors have been calling on Seattle Public Schools for months to remove the camp that they say has brought increasing problems to their neighborhood.

It’s located directly behind Broadview-Thomson K-8 at 13052 Greenwood Ave North.

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Inside the school, preschool and special education students are already back in class after a year at home because of the pandemic. Come Monday, 170 more kids will return for in-person learning.

“We are constantly watching out for things going on around here,” said concerned neighbor Bill Stelle.

This summer, the homeless encampment of up to 40 tents moved from Bitter Lake Park to the adjacent property just behind Broadview -Thomson that is owned by Seattle Public Schools.

Neighbors say the district told them they would have the encampment moved by September.

Seven months later it remains.

“I'm calling on the district to enforce its own policy which prohibits homeless encampments on school property,” said Stelle.

KOMO News asked school principal Tipton Blish if the district plans to move the campers to a different area.

“They certainly know about it and I think they are trying to be sensitive to people’s needs,” Blish said. "It’s tough for them (the campers), it’s tough for our neighbors, and tough for our families.”

Neighbors from the community recently sent a letter to school and city leaders asking that the encampment be removed because of increasing environmental damage, crime and the toll it’s taking on the community.

"It’s frustrating, very frustrating,” said neighbor Annie Geer. "I want kids to be able to play in the park and there’s no kids.”

In February, neighbors say a woman died of an overdose at the encampment.

“Her body remained in the middle of street for hours,” said Geer.

The tragic incident left neighbors reeling.

Theft of all kinds and drug issues, community members say, have now taken over their neighborhood filled with children and the elderly.

“I feel like sometimes the only recourse I have is to move out of Seattle,” said Geer. “It feels like taxpayers have no recourse against this. We have no rights -- all the rights seem to belong to the homeless.”

Neighbors want safety for the kids who attend the school here and help for the unhoused who are living on the property.

“I’d like that encampment to be cleaned up and I'd like the campers in there to get connected with the resources they need,” said Stelle.

Seattle Public School released this statement in response to KOMO’s request for an interview:

"The pandemic has deepened inequities, including access to housing. It is a crisis that Seattle must find a solution for and do so compassionately. We are aware of an encampment near Broadview-Thomson K-8. While SPS owns property behind the school, the encampment is not on the Broadview-Thomson school campus. It is on the other side of a fence away from school grounds. Seattle Public Schools supports prompt outreach to residents, and efforts to identify long term solutions. We are working with the City and community partners on this. Our schools will reopen in a phased approach as planned, beginning with preschool and students enrolled in special education intensive service this week. Kindergarten and 5th grade students will return next week."{/em}

Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office released this statement:

"The City shares the community’s concerns regarding the encampment at Broadview-Thomson, and has been open to working with Seattle Public Schools to help address encampments adjacent to SPS property and facilitate a safe return to the classroom for Seattle students.{/em}

However, the decision of whether to address an encampment on school property is up to Seattle Public Schools. Recently, the Seattle School Board President issued a statement decrying City outreach strategies that may eventually lead to a removal and demanding that removals should “never be performed on school grounds, adjacent, or elsewhere in the City.”{/em}

The City is currently prioritizing outreach at other parks, playfields and adjacent school properties for available spaces including newly open federally funded hotels.