Seattle Public Schools projects that it will face deficits at or around $100 million dollars in each of the next four years. They also project declining elementary school enrollment in the coming years. As a result they are proposing that 28% of the elementary schools in our district will be closed, impacting every student.

Unfortunately closing schools won’t bring stability and sustainability to Seattle Public Schools.

This page explains the latest about what’s going on with the school closure process, and explains background on why their plan isn’t an acceptable approach for serving our kids or right-sizing the budget.

Overview

• SPS plans to close about 20 of the 73 schools in Seattle that serve K-5

• SPS launched it’s online Hub on September 11. This hub outlines the district’s two proposed options for school closures along with comprehensive boundary adjustments that will impact most children in the district even if their school isn’t closing.

  • Option A closes 21 schools and transitions to a system of attendance area elementary schools with no K-8 or option elementary schools.​

  • Option B closes 17 schools, keeps an option K-8 school in each region & reduces the budget using other strategies including staffing reductions.​

• Closures are motivated by an SPS budget crisis and declining enrollment

• Final plan is expected to be approved by December 2024

• Closing schools is not sufficient to get SPS out of the budget crisis

• SPS is planning other painful cuts (staff reductions, bell times)

• SPS's budget crisis is part of a state-wide problem that needs to be fixed by the legislature

• Initiative 2109 (on the November 2024 ballot) threatens to cut school funding state-wide

Fall 2024 Timeline Shared By SPS

SPS published the following timeline when it launched its online hub that unveiled the two lists of schools being considered for closure.

• Sept. 11: SPS launched its online Hub on September 11. This hub outlines the district’s two proposed options for school closures along with comprehensive boundary adjustments that will impact most children in the district even if their school isn’t closing.

• Sept. 24: Online information sessions to provide an overview of both options.

• Sept. 25-Oct. 8: In-person meetings in each region for families, staff, and community. Separate SPS staff meetings will also be held. 

• Mid to Late October: Superintendent announces the preliminary recommendation. 

• November: Public hearings on each proposed school closure. 

• December: Final School Board vote before winter break. 

• Fall 2025: School closures and new boundaries take effect

November General Election

The November general election also has massive implications for school funding. Washington voters will elect a new governor, and will vote on state legislators and ballot initiatives, all of which will impact school funding. Initiative 2109, repealing the capital gains excise tax imposed on long-term capital assets by individuals with capital gains over $250,000, will dramatically cut school funding state-wide if passed.

Useful information

SPS budget

• SPS has had budget deficits in recent years and has relied on increasingly risky and unusual budget fixes to close deficits, including raiding $42 million from the rainy-day fund and taking a $27 million loan to be repaid in two years

• SPS is forecasting future budget deficits of $94 million (2025-26), $105 million (2026-27), and $112 million (2027-28).  SPS's 2024-25 total budget is $1.2 billion.

• SPS is considering cost-cutting measures, including closing schools, reducing services, cutting staff, and adjusting bell times.

• SPS predicts that if enrollment went back to pre-pandemic levels it would improve the deficit by $12 million.

• SPS estimates saving $30 million per year from closing 20 schools. Other school districts have found that closing schools saves less money than they expected.

• SPS does not plan to sell properties, and SPS will pay to maintain them.

State-wide problem

• School districts across Washington state are having budget problems, leading to school consolidations, layoffs, and cutbacks. Districts experiencing financial problems include Bellevue, Edmonds, Northshore, Tukwila, Marysville, Olympia, Yakima, Moses Lake, Mount Baker, Prescott (Walla Walla), Yelm, and La Conner

• The state limits the ability of school districts to raise money from operations levies.  Seattle’s most recent levy in 2022 provides the maximum allowed amount and passed with 78% of the vote.  School districts are expected to fund the rest of their operations from state and federal funding sources (mostly state).

• Washington state government spending on K-12 education has decreased by 6% since 2019, after adjusting for inflation

• Washington spends below the U.S. average in K-12 funding as a fraction of state GDP.

• Washington state provides less for special-education funding than actual costs.  SPS spends more than $100 million more on special education than it receives from state and federal sources.

Closure criteria

SPS will use many criteria for choosing schools to close:

• Building condition (age of the building)

• Learning environment (how well the design of the building meets current needs)

• Capacity (SPS does not want to operate schools smaller than 300)

• Utilization (ratio of actual enrollment to the designed capacity of the building)

• Location (proximity to other schools, particularly newer schools with extra capacity)

Implications of school closures

• Attendance areas will be redrawn across Seattle.  Many students who currently attend schools that remain open may end up being assigned to different schools.

• Remaining schools will be larger and more homogeneous

• Larger schools does not necessarily mean larger class sizes

• Remaining schools will be subject to other budget cuts