By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle Public Schools Announces Proposals to Close Up to 21 Schools in Response to $100 Million Budget Deficit
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has unveiled its preliminary proposals for the “Well-Resourced Schools” agenda, which could result in the closure of up to 21 schools to address a significant budget deficit. The district faces an estimated $100 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year, leading to two proposed options for school closures.
The first proposal, “Option A,” calls for the closure of 21 schools, saving the district $31.5 million. Schools potentially closing under this plan include:
• Northwest Seattle: Licton Springs K-8, Salmon Bay K-8, Broadview Thompson K-8, and North Beach Elementary.
• Northeast Seattle: Green Lake, Decatur, Sacajawea, Cedar Park, and Laurelhurst elementary schools.
• Central Seattle: Catharine Blaine K-8, TOPS K-8, and John Hay, McGilvra, and Stevens elementary schools.
• Southeast Seattle: Orca K-8 and Graham Hill, Dunlap, and Rainier View elementary schools.
• Southwest Seattle: Boren STEM K-8 and Lafayette and Sanislo elementary schools.
The alternative plan, “Option B,” would close 17 schools, saving $25.5 million. The schools listed for closure in this proposal include:
• Northwest Seattle: Licton Springs K-8, Broadview Thompson K-8, and North Beach Elementary.
• Northeast Seattle: Green Lake, Decatur, Cedar Park, and Laurelhurst elementary schools.
• Central Seattle: Catharine Blaine K-8, John Hay, McGilvra, Stevens, and Thurgood Marshall elementary schools.
• Southeast Seattle: Orca K-8, Graham Hill, and Rainier View elementary schools.
• Southwest Seattle: Boren STEM K-8 and Sanislo Elementary.
In recent statements, SPS emphasized that school consolidations are a necessary step to address ongoing financial challenges.
“We want to make sure that we’re demonstrating care. We’re trying to make sure that we are moving at the speed of our community. We’re trying to make sure that we are bringing folks along in a way that they understand the rationale and there is faith in the outcome that we’re trying to achieve,” says Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. So, without the real enduring kind of trust that we’ve built with the community, it’s hard for us to move forward with the plan. Our plan is technically sound, but this isn’t a technical argument. This is around how do we really get the right resources to the right size of schools so that we can have the ideal outcomes.”
“And until we can really make a coherent, compelling argument that the city and the community and the stakeholders believe in, we need to slow down to make sure that they’re on board,” Jones adds.
District officials have pointed to a steady decline in student enrollment as a key driver of the financial crisis. Over the past five years, SPS has lost nearly 5,000 students, a drop of approximately 9%. The lower enrollment has resulted in a loss of roughly $81 million in state funding, which is primarily based on student headcount.
School Board President Liza Rankin acknowledged the difficulty of these proposals but maintained that they are crucial for the long-term sustainability of the district. “This is a hard decision, but it’s the one that has to be made in order to best serve our students today and sustain our district into the future,” Rankin said.
Rankin also emphasized that the proposals are not final, and that one consolidated school closure plan will be brought before the board for a vote next month. “I would really like to provide clarity and stability for families to know going into winter break,” Rankin added. “Maybe they won’t like what’s going to happen, but we need to give people the information they need so they can make the right choices for their families.”
Public meetings will be held to allow parents and community members to express their views on the proposed closures. Additionally, each school listed for potential closure will hold individual public hearings, as required by school board policy.
The district has also indicated that staffing reductions and other cost-saving measures will be necessary. While the current plans do not specifically address staff cuts, district officials have acknowledged that maintaining all 73 of Seattle’s elementary and K-8 schools would lead to significant reductions in personnel and resources.
Marni Campbell, SPS’s Well-Resourced Schools officer, stated that both plans aim to ensure that schools are adequately staffed and have access to the necessary resources. “At SPS, we want to create a system of schools that are durable and healthy. Our plan for well-resourced schools will allow all SPS students to receive world-class education that meets their diverse needs in their neighborhood schools,” Campbell said.
The district’s financial struggles are not new. The last time Seattle faced widespread school closures was in 2007 and 2008. Those closures were met with significant backlash from the community, including protests, lawsuits, and even calls for school board members to step down. The aftermath led to the departure of the superintendent at the time, Denise Juneau, and by 2009, enrollment had unexpectedly increased, forcing the district to spend millions reopening schools that had just been shuttered.
“We have confidence in our analysis, we have confidence in our demographic data. We have confidence in our projections,” Jones assures us. “We work with third party folks. We have demographers internal who I trust in their valid and reliable information. Our criteria that we’ve been using to look at building scores, building condition, learning condition, all that I’m feeling pretty confident about in guarding our package that we’ve offered.”
One of the key drivers behind this financial crisis is the way state funding is allocated. According to district data, funding is based on the cost to operate a 400-student elementary school. However, 29 of Seattle’s 104 school buildings house fewer than 300 students, making it difficult to provide full-time staff for critical positions like counselors, nurses, and special education support.
Maintaining smaller schools has proven expensive. As it stands, many staff members, such as librarians, art teachers, and social workers, must be shared between multiple schools. The district estimates that closing under-enrolled schools will save about $1.5 million per building. The overall plan, if enacted, is expected to save the district around $30 million.
In terms of resource distribution, district leaders have argued that closing schools will allow them to more effectively and equitably allocate resources.
“When we first set out to embark on this journey, creating a system of well-resourced schools, this has always been about making sure our students can experience having access to highly favorable conditions,” says Jones.” so we want to make sure that there’s equitable access to resources. Students and parents should be able to have access to and get the services they need in their neighborhood schools.”
Despite the challenges, district officials are confident that the data being used to project enrollment trends and justify school closures is sound. They believe that downsizing will help the district move towards its goal of creating a sustainable, well-resourced educational system that serves all students equitably.
Seattle Public Schools is committed to finding the best path forward in light of these financial challenges, while ensuring that all students receive the support they need.
