Seattle to close more schools despite ‘consolidation’ plan

SEATTLE - It’s been one week since Seattle Public Schools announced a scaled-back school closing plan — five schools instead of 20 — but details have been scarce since then.

The school board meeting on Wednesday will be the first chance to get specifics, according to a late addition to the agenda, which reads:

"Adoption of Resolution No. 2024/25-11, directing the Superintendent to present preliminary recommendations and supporting analysis in October 2024 for up to five school closures for the 2025-26 school year; to develop a multi-year plan no later than June 2025 to achieve fiscal stability in support of student outcomes; and to form a taskforce to advise the Superintendent on implementation of 2025-26 school closures, if approved by the Board, and development of the multi-year recommendations. Approval of this item would adopt Resolution No. 2024/25-11 as attached to the Board Action Report. Immediate action is in the best interest of the district."

This was added to the agenda on Tuesday, and critics have suggested that "fiscal stability" translates to more school closures down the line, and the five-school consolidation plan was simply a move to quiet parents and staff up in arms over the sweeping closures.

"After taking some time to reflect on your feedback, I have developed a revised plan that will support addressing the budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year while taking steps to right-size our school system," wrote Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones last week, pitching a revised plan to "consolidate" five schools instead of the previous 20. "Under this revision, I intend to propose consolidating five schools for the 2025-26 school year. What we learn from this initial set of schools will guide our future action."

The school district is still working through which five schools constitute that "initial set," so they can plug a $100 million shortfall in the budget.

Yet, despite the $100 million budget deficit, the school board approved a $20,000 raise for Dr. Jones.

"If your school was on either the Option A or Option B list — it is still there," reads a sample email drafted by parent group All Together for Seattle Schools. "SPS still intends to close it and redraw everyone else's boundaries. They just might wait another year to do it."

Parents are still skeptical about the new plan — the public comment section on the Wednesday agenda lists 72 people looking to speak, and almost all of them plan to speak about planned school closures. The rest are targeting another item on the agenda, the BEX VI levy, which calls for building new schools, even while the district floats closing others.