This deal smells like bathroom process; oh, I mean backroom. Backroom process; thin paperwork; real liability. That is the Schoolhouse pitch. I have supported Rose and the Aeneas Valley Country Store for years; this time I cannot. Not because anyone is against kids. Because the process is opaque; the paperwork is thin; the liability is real.

Sun Ranch’s board approved a seven year arrangement to use HOA common space as an “Aeneas Valley Schoolhouse.” The hours track a school day. The nearest bathroom is locked for kids during those hours. A hold harmless is taped in a window. A new propane heater is being installed. Parks and paths around the clubhouse are effectively part of the school day footprint. Public posts insist it is “not a business; not a school; not a homeschool,” even as the set up looks like all three. Labels do not decide the law; operations do. And no, this is not a unicorn who reads books; it is a school that calls itself a unicorn to dodge rules.

Legal

Rose’s own description makes this a school. She calls it a schoolhouse; she sets school day hours; she reserves facilities for students; she organizes group instruction; she brings in adults who are not the parent. Under Washington law those facts point to a private school or to licensed child care. Labels do not change that. A seven year lease in a common clubhouse underscores that this is centralized instruction; not home based instruction.

Private school status triggers OSPI approval and minimum program requirements. Child care status triggers DCYF licensing and center standards. Either track brings inspections for safety; staffing; background checks; supervision ratios; records; hours; posting; firearms rules tied to school or child care premises. Either track expects written policies for bathroom use; line of sight supervision; two adult rules; check in and check out; and exclusion of unrelated adults from children’s areas.

The predator risk is legal reality; not rhetoric. Washington’s registry permits offenders to live in neighborhoods. When minors are concentrated in a program inside a common building, the standard of care rises. Foreseeable harm triggers liability. That means controlled access; staffed monitoring; separation of children from general traffic; and documented compliance with DCYF or OSPI safety expectations. A sign on a window is not compliance.

Owners have a right to see the association records that make this possible. Produce the signed lease; the board minutes and notice; the insurance certificates naming the HOA; all permits and inspections; and any written safety protocols and background check policies.

“Some folks want applause instead of answers. They’ll get neither until the paperwork shows up.” — Caleb Hart

Bathrooms

This is not a minor inconvenience. Bathrooms are the lifeline amenity for owners. People plan trips around showers. Locking the closest bathroom from morning to mid afternoon is not comparable access; it is functional exclusion. Telling owners to use a farther bathroom is not comparable; it is a burden placed on paying members for the benefit of a private program.

Child safety raises a larger duty. The adjoining bathroom becomes a boundary between unrelated adults and a defined group of minors. Who is screening traffic near that door. Who is controlling entry. Who is monitoring the porch and the parking lot. Who checks the sex offender registry for known residents or guests who legally live or visit inside the HOA. Washington allows registered offenders to live in communities; that is a reality. Once children are invited into a daily program in a common building, the HOA and organizers assume a duty of reasonable care to prevent foreseeable contact.

Reasonable care means access control; posted rules; active supervision; and clear separation between the children’s restroom and general public use. If the kids’ bathroom is locked for them, then the adjoining bathroom used by other adults must have a safety plan that prevents mingling and contact. That requires staffed monitors; sight lines; and documented procedures. Anything less is negligent security when minors are present.

If the governing documents truly allow bathroom reservation, the plan still needs a written safety protocol reviewed by counsel and by the insurer. If the documents do not allow it, unlock the door or secure a private facility that does not create mixed traffic with minors.

Owners’ Voices

“We all use those bathrooms at any given time and they shouldn’t be restricted at all. Owners come to take showers there.” — Danae Christian

“This is against our regulations; rules; bylaws. There was no vote by lot members.” — Angela Dublin

“The board allowed me to operate my business. I had to provide my own insurance and a hold harmless. It worked quite nicely.” — Jen Snow

“My office has requested a copy of the commercial lease. There are potential risks and liabilities which may not have been addressed.” — Tom Lee

“We are not a business. Not a school. Not a co‑op. We signed a hold harmless which releases Sun Ranch from any liability.” — Rose Isler

The ‘Anti Kid’ Smear

Calling neighbors “anti kid” to shut down questions is lazy and cruel. People who pay dues; bathe in those bathrooms; and shoulder the risk have a right to ask for the lease; the minutes; the insurance; and the permits. Loving children and insisting on safety and lawful process are not opposites. Copy the national Democrat playbook; smear anyone who asks for documents as anti kid; pretend questions are cruelty. If your only argument is “you must hate kids,” you do not have an argument. Try paperwork instead.

“Save the moral lectures. Bring the lease.” — Ben Kittredge

Authority and Process

A seven year clubhouse lease is not routine. Board power must match the CC&Rs and bylaws. Long terms; exclusive use; material limits on common area access often require membership approval. If business uses were once barred, reversing that usually requires a recorded amendment approved by owners; not a policy note in minutes. Calm comes fast if the board publishes the lease; the notice; the approval minutes; vote counts; the recording details for any amendment.

Why Not Use Store Property

Rose owns ample property next to the Aeneas Valley Country Store. If this is pure good, why not run it there. Because the legal risks land on the organizer when the site is private. Insurance goes up; premiums spike; carriers ask hard questions about minors; background checks; school or child‑care classification; firearms posting; and compliance. Building and fire codes apply with inspections and re‑inspections. One incident can follow the store for years.

Inside the HOA the costs shift. The HOA’s policy becomes the first shield; the HOA’s members become the backstop. Bathroom deals move risk from the organizer to the dues payers. Why fund dedicated facilities when a lock and a sign can push the bill to the association. Why pay for your own risk when, through bathroom deals, you can make someone else pay.

What Matters

You call it a schoolhouse. You schedule school day hours. You signed a seven year lease in a common clubhouse. You organized group instruction and set aside facilities for students. You run this through a nonprofit. Then you say parents staying with kids gets around the rules. It does not. This crossed the line the moment it became centralized, scheduled, and facility based. Washington looks at facts. This is a school or a licensed child care program, not a picnic.

Liability and Insurance

In Washington, parents generally cannot waive a child’s future negligence claim against third parties; releases for minors are typically unenforceable. A window sign does not stop a lawsuit by a minor. A hold harmless shifts risk between signers and the HOA or organizer. It does not bind an injured child; it does not bind an owner who never agreed; it does not bind a guest who never saw it. No waiver defeats claims for willful; wanton; or reckless misconduct; gross negligence; or criminal misconduct. Those are off limits.

The only real shield is insurance and compliance that matches reality. The organizer needs general liability that names the HOA as additional insured; primary and non‑contributory wording; adequate occurrence limits; abuse and molestation coverage if minors are present; no education or child‑care exclusions; and certificates on file. The HOA must disclose the true use to its own carrier and obtain written confirmation that coverage remains in force for school or child‑care operations in the clubhouse.

Permits and inspections are not optional. The propane work needs permits and final inspection. Occupancy; egress; alarms; supervision ratios; background checks; check‑in and check‑out; restroom protocols; and separation of minors from unrelated adults on the porch and in the parking lot must be documented to the standard DCYF or OSPI would expect. If a carrier later says it was not told the truth, coverage can evaporate; dues become the backstop.

“If the choice is between real safety and make‑believe unicorns, pick the one that files permits.” — Marta Ruiz

Firearms — The Elephant in the Room

This is a rural HOA. Many owners are armed; many carry concealed; some parents likely will as well. That is normal here. It also collides with state school and child‑care gun‑free rules when a space is used as a school or center during set hours. Those rules apply to the areas used as a school while in use. State inspectors will look at use; not press releases.

Picture the scene. A deputy is nearby on unrelated patrol. A visible weapon is mounted inside a vehicle parked directly in front of the clubhouse. During those hours the space is functioning as a school. That is now a gun‑free school premises issue in real time, in front of children. No one wants a walk of shame in a towel. No one wants cuffs over normal rural life. Calling it a reading club does not prevent the school‑zone statute from triggering when the facts fit.

Investigations and Complaints

Residents report that the Department of Children; Youth; and Families has received complaints about the plan and declined to comment. Residents also say the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has been contacted. Members report notice to the Washington State Patrol and the Okanogan County Sheriff about firearms concerns tied to school hours. Agencies rarely comment mid stream. Silence is not approval. Silence usually means review.

Lawsuit Outlook

Owners plan to challenge the lease and the bathroom restrictions. On the papers, owners have the better shot. A seven year exclusive use arrangement needs clear authority. If the CC&Rs are silent or contrary; if notice was thin; if no recorded amendment backs a shift from no business to allowed business; a court can void or narrow the deal quickly. Washington courts have enforced recorded covenants over side deals; a signed lease does not legalize an unauthorized use; it is not a shield against suit. Signing a lease does not make a board untouchable.

Rose says the lease is signed for seven years and that organizers are already paying for upgrades in the schoolhouse. That raises a hard risk: if the lease is voided or narrowed, the group stands to lose the sunk costs and much more. Tenant improvements in common facilities often become part of the premises; recovery depends on the contract and lawful authority. If authority is missing, equitable arguments rarely save the tenant. The HOA can face fee‑shifting under the covenants; if owners prevail, the association can be ordered to pay their fees as well as its own.

Expect parallel exposure. If the program is found to be an unapproved private school or unlicensed child care, state agencies can compel compliance; levy fines; or force closure. Any injury claim will test the insurance. If coverage is denied for non‑disclosure or exclusions, both the organizer and the HOA face direct liability; dues and personal assets are at risk.

My View

I like Rose. I like the store. I like kids with books. I do not like shortcuts with other people’s property. Community is not locking a door and calling it love. Community is process and paper you can see. The signed lease. The minutes. The authority in the CC&Rs. The insurance naming the HOA. The permits and inspections. Spell out the operating rules in plain language. Parent presence. Drop off policy. Who teaches whom. Headcount. Exact hours. The bathroom plan for other owners. If authority is thin, pause and seek member ratification or try a short pilot with full transparency. Sixty to ninety days builds trust. Seven years without sunlight breeds anger.

Regulations and References

Owners’ access to association records: RCW 64.38.045.
Private‑school approval and minimum program rules: RCW 28A.195; WAC 180‑90.
Child‑care licensing framework and DCYF authority: RCW 43.216.010 et seq.
Firearms in areas used as schools or licensed child‑care centers: RCW 9.41.280; RCW 9.41.282.
Minors’ waivers and public policy limits on releases; no waiver of willful; wanton; or reckless misconduct; gross negligence; or criminal acts: see Wagenblast v. Odessa School Dist. (Wash. 1988) and related Washington authority; releases for minors generally unenforceable; adult ski releases distinguished in Scott v. Pacific West Mountain Resort (Wash. 1992).