Will They Ever Learn? Closing Seattle Schools
By Jean Godden
In past years, the Seattle School District, this state’s largest, has made some regrettable mistakes, and now it seems poised to do so again. This time the district proposes closing as many as 20 elementary schools.
There’s no denying the Seattle district, like many in this state, is facing budget deficits and needs to pare expenses. Earlier the federal government provided schools with funds for pandemic relief. But Covid money, used to plug budget holes and not kept in a rainy day fund, has now dried up. At the same time, Seattle schools – with 5,000 fewer students than in the past five years — are entitled to less state support. The district’s shortfall for 2025-26 is $105 million. The following year’s deficit is projected to reach $129 million.
The budget is an ongoing disaster, and it’s going to take some major cuts to balance the books and keep Seattle schools delivering quality education for its 49,000 students. However, the district’s preferred proposal – cutting more than a quarter of the system’s beginning grades – is a worrisome solution.
Closing schools is sadly reminiscent of missteps made in other years. It’s similar to action taken in 2007-09 when enrollment dipped. At that time, the Seattle district shuttered 11 schools selling the action as “Closing Schools for Excellence.” In the next few years, enrollment increased and eventually all but four of the 11 closed schools were reopened, some at considerable expense.
https://www.postalley.org/2024/06/05/will-they-ever-learn-closing-seattle-schools/