SEATTLE — On the first day back to class for the state's largest school district, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones is encouraging optimism among parents and teachers, as the district prepares to make deep cuts to shore up a massive budget deficit.
"We are spread too thin," he told KING 5's Jake Whittenberg. "We can no longer guarantee that students get access to the programs they want or need."
As the new school year gets underway, Jones, a former student in SPS, is tasked with closing a $94 million budget gap, spurred by lower enrollment and fewer federal dollars being infused into the district.
To help stabilize the budget, he's proposing the closure of 20 elementary schools in the district, to support what he calls a "well-resourced schools" model
"We have to do things differently," Jones said. "We have to do things more efficiently. But we see this as an opportunity to bring stabilization to the entire school district. We want to make sure every school is packed full of opportunities for our students."
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.
According to SPS, 29 schools have fewer than 300 students.
Some advocacy groups like All Together for Seattle Schools, point to cities like Philadelphia and Washington D.C. where similar plans were implemented. Those cities found the closures did not save the amount of money originally intended by the district.
Closing 20 elementary schools would save an estimated $30 million, which is still only a third of the budget deficit.
"We're studying those school districts and their journey, and we're learning from them," said Dr. Jones.
Jones is expected to release the preliminary list of school closures, at a board meeting in October.