Budget crisis: Seattle Schools will reveal proposed school closures in October

(The Center Square) – Parents and faculty of Seattle Public Schools will soon learn which school buildings will close as the district works to fix a $100 million budget deficit.

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Brent Jones announced that preliminary recommendations for which elementary schools face closures are expected in early October. Formal action would be taken in the following months.

The district is set to consolidate 70 elementary schools into approximately 50 K-5 sites, with 10 per region after the 2024-2025 school year.  This is due to the district’s budget deficit that has resulted from weaker revenue streams and continually-decreasing enrollment.

Enrollment at Seattle Public Schools since the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to go down. The district had 49,197 students enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year. It is projected to decrease to 48,329 in the upcoming school year. That is about half of what it was in 1980, according to Jones. Despite this, the district still operates around the same number of school buildings.

According to the district, closing a school could save Seattle Public Schools between $750,000 to $2 million.

The district estimates that consolidating schools will save a total of approximately $30 million in order to tackle the $100 million deficit.

“While this may seem like a small portion, relatively speaking, it’s crucial because this deficit compounds over time if it’s not addressed,” Jones said in the school board meeting on Wednesday night. “Maintaining the status quo is simply not an option [and] without these changes we risk further cuts to essential services.” 

Issues that could arise from a compounding deficit include: larger class sizes, limited preschool options, and reductions in programs like athletics and music.

Over the past seven years alone, enrollment at Seattle Public Schools has dropped by approximately 4,000 students, causing a number of the district’s elementary schools to have fewer than 300 students.

“Smaller schools often lack vital resources such as full-time nurses, assistant principals, and teachers for art, music and [physical education],” Jones explained.

During the week of Sept. 9, the district will launch a new well-resourced schools hub, which will provide a detailed analysis of the current portfolio of elementary school buildings that could potentially be subject to closures.