Seattle Public Schools may withdraw closure plans

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Brent Jones will consider withdrawing his latest school closure proposal, he said at a board meeting Tuesday night, raising doubts about the district’s plan to shutter schools next year.

Jones’ closure plans, which include closing Sanislo, North Beach, Stevens and Sacajawea elementary schools and consolidating them with Highland Park, Viewlands, Montlake and John Rogers, respectively, are aimed at helping the district close a budget gap that it estimates at $94 million. The district has scheduled public hearings for the closure plan in December and set a School Board vote for late January.

But on Tuesday, School Board President Liza Rankin said that after hearing tearful testimony from parents she did not imagine she would hear anything at the December hearings that would allow her to support Jones’ proposal.

Jones didn’t announce any final decisions, but said “it is now clear that that direction is shifting and I am considering withdrawing my preliminary recommendation.”

Jones said he needs more time to consider “when it comes back, if it does.”

With the plans now in limbo, the district potentially faces the need to consider yet another closure proposal or abandon the closure plans altogether.

If the public hearings are ultimately postponed, it will mark the second time the district has retreated from closure plans this school year.

In September, Jones offered two closure proposals, one of which called for closing up to 21 schools. He ditched the proposals amid questions about their viability from the public and the School Board.

Parents at the schools slated for closure have expressed their dissatisfaction: On Tuesday afternoon, about 80 protesters gathered outside the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence before the Seattle School Board meeting to rally against the district’s plan.

Using a loudspeaker, parents called for more transparency and for the district to halt the plan to close four elementary schools. They held signs that read “Make it make sense,” “We heart Sanislo,” “Let Stevens’ stars shine” and other messages that questioned the rationale behind the school closure plan.

Peggi Fu moved her family to North Beach Elementary so her kids could walk to school. Now, she’s deeply concerned about her students moving to Viewlands Elementary, a larger school, and the potential effect on their education and well-being.

“They need to look at boundaries to make sure that schools that are being consolidated aren’t being over-enrolled and that the new plan makes sense,” Fu said Tuesday.

Fu and others hope the district will pause the plan and not close any schools. They pointed to the Shoreline School District, which halted school closures because the demographer they hired found new data that didn’t support closures.

“We want to fully fund schools,” Fu said. “While we are dealing with this and school closures, we haven’t lost sight.”

On Monday night, about 150 parents and students rallied at North Beach before the district’s in-person community engagement session at the school. Inside the meeting, parents raised questions about Viewlands’ staff-to-student ratio, expressing concerns about potential overcrowding and the quality of education.

The meeting was the last of four in-person sessions the district hosted to provide parents with opportunities to learn more about the proposals and to share their ideas.

Parents of students at Salmon Bay Elementary, one of the schools on the original closure list, weren’t relieved when they heard their school wasn’t part of the latest proposal. They showed up to the rally out of solidarity because they don’t think the fight is over.

“A lot of parents at Salmon Bay think (the district) isn’t going to stop at these four and it’s just a matter of time that they come for our school and other schools on those original lists,” Julie Schneider said.

“We are trying to get them to be really transparent and show their work. The numbers don’t add up to any real savings. They are disrupting communities and making changes to thriving communities.”