SEATTLE — As it navigates addressing a budget shortfall of over $100 million, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) said it will not recommend any closures or consolidations for the 2024-25 academic year.
SPS Chief of Staff Bev Redmond made the statement in an email sent to families and staff, as Superintendent Brent Jones will share his plans to balance the budget at a board meeting on Wednesday evening.
Jones did say in the message that while no closures or consolidations are being recommended in 2024-25, such measures are not off the table in coming years.
"SPS is working to right-size the number of schools to accommodate lower student enrollment. This may include school closures or consolidations as an option for 2025-26. We know it takes time to plan and implement large-scale changes and will include our community to provide feedback as we move through the process," read the message from SPS.
Many parents are now worried this will mean their student's school will be on the chopping block.
Over the last few months, SPS leaders gave parents and staff the opportunity to define what a "well-resourced school" is in Seattle, and they revealed tonight that the 3,800 survey respondents listed the following as some of their top priorities: a close neighborhood location, a safe building and continued conversations with leadership.
Regarding the latter, demands for inclusion and communication reverberated through the halls of Seattle Public Schools' headquarters Wednesday evening.
"Time and again, the most privileged voices are afforded a seat at the table, and communities that face a number of barriers, such as language and access, are excluded,” said Manuela Slye, who gave public testimony.
Two SPS parents who spoke to KING 5 on Wednesday said that if school consolidations and closures have to happen, then there needs to be more community involvement in the planning and discussion process of those decisions.
"The way stuff is happening is so opaque and there's just a lack of communication and partnership from the district that leaves parents really not being able to plan for their own kids' futures," said Jen Lavallee.
Robert Cruickshank volunteers with All Together for Seattle Schools, a coalition of parents advocating for more community partnership in the city. He mentioned data in Chicago and San Antonio that showed closures had a profoundly negative impact on the students affected.
"That says to me like wow, this should be something as an absolute last resort and I don't think we're there yet," Cruickshank told KING 5.
Other districts in western Washington have taken the step of consolidating schools in recent years due to similarly declining enrollment and strapped budgets.
Bellevue School District, faced with a $31 million budget shortfall, consolidated two elementary schools and is considering additional measures.
Olympia's school district is also looking at potentially consolidating multiple middle schools to avoid a budget shortfall.
Wednesday's SPS board meeting will begin at 4:15 p.m. and can be watched live on the SPS YouTube channel.
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