Dear SPS, to fix Seattle’s schools crisis, turn to your community

One thing that used to set Seattle apart from many major metros was its public schools and who attended them — almost everyone: middle-class, low-income and affluent kids.

These days, however, Seattle parents could be forgiven for wondering if the school district wants them gone.

In response to a $104 million budget hole and waning enrollment, Seattle Public Schools has, confoundingly, made little effort to burnish its standout gems and entice families back. To the contrary. Over the pleas of parents and kids, SPS has threatened its nationally renowned jazz music program, promised to upend advanced learning and proposed shuttering 20 elementary schools.

It’s bewildering. Just last fall, Seattle Superintendent Brent Jones told The Times’ editorial board that to hold onto current families and attract new ones, SPS needed to get better at “telling our story.” The district has shrunk by 9% since 2019, and Jones seemed to be saying that the bleeding — which costs about $23,000 for each student who leaves — could be stanched.

But school board members act as if they’d rather see every disaffected mom or dad join the 17% who put their kids in private schools. “No one is forcing you to participate,” board President Liza Rankin said at a public meeting last fall. (She was vice president at the time and referring to families concerned about curriculum. But the highhanded attitude was widely noted.)

More puzzling still, the district’s bookkeepers say closing schools won’t save the money needed, not even close. Only mass layoffs can do that. So why is Seattle hellbent on a plan that won’t solve its financial woes and is only prompting more families to look for an exit?

To be fair, there are rational arguments for consolidating schools, and Superintendent Jones has attempted to make them: Fewer buildings with more kids will allow for additional nurses, librarians and social workers in each, he says. But his pitch lacks conviction. If Jones truly believes this move will improve public education in Seattle, it’s past time to go into communities and show people exactly how.

It also might be instructive to heed a few lessons from nearby Bellevue, which was facing similar problems a year ago and eyed a similar solution — albeit not at Seattle’s scale. In 2023, to address sagging enrollment, Bellevue floated the idea of closing schools. But none were named specifically. No neighborhood knew if theirs would be hit — just like Seattle today.

The outcry was immediate and ferocious. Without information, conspiracy theories flew. The anger was so intense security guards had to escort Bellevue board members out of public meetings.

In the midst of this chaos, the district hired a new superintendent, Kelly Aramaki, who dialed the heat way down. He reduced Bellevue’s planned closures from three elementary schools to two, offered detailed explanations of precisely where money would be saved and decided against closing any middle schools — not before trying to reverse enrollment declines by offering an Arabic-language program at parents’ request. This is crucial. Those families felt heard. And this year, the district has about 600 more students.

Dear SPS, please take this compare-and-contrast exercise in the spirit with which it is offered. Families in Seattle have a huge heart for public education. They are looking for a reason to stick with the public schools. Give it to them.

Make them feel like part of the solution, rather than a problem to overcome.