Bastyr presentation prepared for March 9 council meeting detailed university's financial crisis and property sale plans

What the records say

The city's March 9, 2026 Regular Meeting agenda listed a 'Bastyr Update' presentation by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno and Chief Administrative Officer Randy Frisch, PhD. ¹ The presentation attachment included in the meeting file describes what the university found in July 2025: $15 million in debt, $20 million in deferred maintenance, and $14 million in losses across fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025. ¹ It states the university received nearly 10 bids for its property, including a $65 million bid for everything except its primary building and gardens, and says it will need to sell some property, ideally by June 30, 2026. ¹ The packet does not establish that the meeting took place or that the presentation was delivered as scheduled; it shows what was prepared and placed on the agenda. ¹

• The March 9, 2026 council agenda listed a 'Bastyr Update' presentation by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno and Chief Administrative Officer Randy Frisch, PhD. ¹
• The presentation states that as of July 2025 Bastyr was $15 million in debt, had $20 million in deferred maintenance, and had lost $14 million across fiscal years 2023–2025. ¹
• The university received nearly 10 bids for its property, including one for $65 million for all of the property except its primary building and gardens; it did not accept and says it will instead sell some property, ideally by June 30, 2026. ¹
• The presentation identifies interest from a national sports education organization (ball fields, student housing, classrooms), a housing developer (part of the 51-acre parcel), and the state of Washington (housing units for difficult-to-house populations). ¹
• Stabilization steps described include more than $2.5 million of $3.0 million in community pledges received, a loan from a Kenmore philanthropist to pay off the bank, removal of a financial show-cause sanction by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, suspension of some programs, and relocation of the Wallingford Clinic to the Kenmore campus. ¹
• The presentation flags a federal Education Department loan limit taking effect July 1, 2026 — $100,000 for non-professional degrees, $200,000 for professional degrees — against a current tuition cost of $205,000, with a new three-year naturopathic doctorate reducing tuition to $175,000. ¹

Why it matters

Bastyr's 51-acre campus is one of the largest single properties in Kenmore, and the presentation outlines potential sales of ball fields, student housing, classrooms, and part of the campus parcel to a sports education organization, a housing developer, and the state of Washington. ¹ The presentation itself notes a full-campus sale could have meant losing the ball fields and 17.5 acres of forest trails to housing and an additional access road. ¹ For residents, the disposition of this land directly affects neighborhood character, traffic, trails, and the city's tax and housing picture. Analysis: because the packet is a pre-meeting record, it shows the university's stated plans as of the agenda date, not any council decision or completed sale.

What changed / what's next

• A 'Bastyr Update' presentation detailing the university's finances and property sale plans was added to the March 9, 2026 city council agenda, with the full presentation included in the meeting file. ¹
• Whether the March 9 meeting occurred and the presentation was delivered as scheduled: the packet contains no minutes or outcome for that meeting. ¹
• Any actual sale of campus property — to the sports education organization, the housing developer, or the state — and any city review those transactions would trigger. ¹
• The available records do not establish the meeting's outcome.