SEATTLE — Many parents left in frustration after Seattle Public Schools hosted its first information meeting about the possible closure of 20 elementary schools.
Superintendent Brent Jones addressed a packed auditorium at Roosevelt High School on Tuesday, admittedly delivering a similar presentation to the one he shared at a school board meeting earlier this month.
"It's good to be here on the hot seat, talking about things that are complex," he said from the stage. "I want to engage you all about why we're thinking about making these changes to become a well-resourced (district)."
"The parents sat and listened to the presentation that was very bare bones," said Angela Hansen. "There's a lot of important collaboration they're missing out on."
Hansen shouted from her seat at the end of the presentation, frustration evident over the lack of engagement with the crowd.
"I feel like they're trying to suppress the ideas and try to filter them and keep the parents from interacting with each other during this process. It's not a transparent process, how they're trying to collect the comments," she said.
After the presentation, guests were invited into a common area outside the auditorium, where they could submit comments and interact with members of district staff. The were also provided a QR code to submit questions and comments.
Before the meeting began, a small group of demonstrators gathered outside the school, chanting: "Show your work, keep schools open."
"We believe the district really needs to show their work. They need to come back to the community, ready to collaborate with us, help us see why they want to do this at all and what their vision is for the future of Seattle Public Schools," said Erin MacDougall with the parent group All Together for Seattle Schools.
According to SPS, the elementary schools are only at 65% capacity. The new plan would increase the school utilization to 85%, which is closer to the usage of middle and high schools in the district.
Jones said the is part of the "well-resourced schools" vision. Essentially, students would be moved into larger schools where they'd have more resources.
"We can't get any more information yet about the impact that's going to have on students, on social, emotional learning, on the long-term fidelity of the district budget, the impact on kids who are furthers from education justice are our primary concern. We do not understand what is going to happen when these schools are closed," said MacDougall.
As he arrived for the meeting, Jones walked up to the demonstrators and engaged in a brief conversation.
"I want us to debate around the how, not the what. We all want high quality schools for our students. There are probably 15 different ways to do. Let's keep talking about it and work it," Jones told the group. "We want your feedback, we want your input but let's be on the same side of the table."
"We will keep letting information out as we learn from you all and we keep adjusting," Jones added. "Our schools are already great but we can't sustain them the way we're going financially right now. So let's keep talking."
There are three more informational meetings scheduled, they'll be held at the following locations:
- Thursday, May 30, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave.
- Saturday, June 1, 10:30 a.m. – noon, Chief Sealth International High School, 2600 SW Thistle St.
- Tuesday, June 4, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Zoom meeting (the link will be posted here by June 3).
Jones is tentatively scheduled to present his final plan to the school board on June 10.