Some schools to close in 2007

By Tan Vinh

Seattle Times staff reporter

Seattle Public Schools will close some elementary schools in the 2007-08 academic year as part of a massive restructuring to handle declining enrollment and a multimillion-dollar budget gap.

In its strongest statement since the closure debate last spring, a unified, seven-member School Board on Wednesday endorsed closing schools in what could become the most dramatic restructuring of the district in two decades and the first school closures since 1989.

In an announcement at district headquarters, board members said the closures would give the district more money to spend on academic programs and to resolve the equity issue that has divided the North End and South End school communities.

The restructuring might also mean that some elementary schools, which currently house kindergarten through fifth grades, could become K-8 schools to help relieve the overcrowding at some middle schools, board members said.

The district will be "smaller but stronger," said board President Brita Butler-Wall.

"Our board believes it is in the best interest of Seattle children for us to take the difficult step of consolidating, reconfiguring, relocating and closing a number of elementary-school buildings," she said.

Closure calendar


Seattle School Board's timeline

February: Develop criteria for closures and appoint community committee.

March-April: Hire consultant; committee holds public meetings throughout the city.

May: Preliminary recommendations from community committee.

June 2: Superintendent Raj Manhas issues preliminary closure recommendations to board.

July 3: Manhas finishes final recommendations; public hearing scheduled later in July.

July 26: Board votes on school closures.

Board members said they didn't know how many schools would be closed or how much money would be saved.

Instead, the board next month will come up with criteria for closures and will appoint a 14-member community committee to advise which of the district's 59 elementary schools should be closed. Criteria could include a building's condition, enrollment and capacity.

The committee will forward the list to the board and Superintendent Raj Manhas; by July, Manhas is scheduled to identify which ones to close.

By using foundation money, the board also will hire a consultant — estimated to cost at least $100,000 to $200,000 — to assist the committee, though in what capacity remains unclear.

A consistent plan

The board's announcement comes two weeks before the superintendent's Community Advisory Committee for Investing in Education Excellence is scheduled to release its findings on school closures and budget cuts.

School Board members said Wednesday they have seen that report and that their plan is consistent with the committee's.

Wednesday's announcement, board members said, was not meant to steal the thunder of the advisory committee but rather to give families and teachers more time to prepare.

In April 2005, thousands of parents protested when Manhas presented his plan to close 10 schools. That plan would have saved the district $2.6 million in the first year and $3.2 million after that, but it was quickly dropped after public outcry. Manhas later appointed his community advisory committee to address the district's financial situation.

Last year, the School Board was criticized for not being more assertive, and board members Wednesday emphasized they are unified and proactive.

"This year, the School Board is taking the lead," Butler-Wall said.

Board members Irene Stewart and Sally Soriano, who opposed school closures last year, said they now support them, partly because there will be more community feedback.

Manhas said Wednesday that he supports the board's effort.

"I realize we are in a much better position now" compared to last spring, he said. "I do not think the public was ready."

The district faces an $11 million budget deficit in 2006-07 and a nearly $24 million deficit the following year, and officials say they need to take drastic measures to close the gap.

Accepting the idea

Steve Pulkkinen, executive director of the Seattle Education Association, said many people were opposed to closures at first but have come to understand the budget situation and accept the idea.

"Our primary position is that there should be voluntary closures or consolidations wherever possible," he said. "Time has given everyone a chance to look at what the reality is and what the impact is."

Mike Moore, a volunteer at Martin Luther King Elementary — the district's smallest — is skeptical that the process will be fair. He fears that more schools in the South End — which has a higher population of minority and low-income students — would be closed.

"I'm not in favor of closing schools," he said. "Schools like MLK are so important to our community."

Under the board's closure plan, the district would be divided into four quadrants: north and south of Interstate 90 and east and west of Interstate 5. Each quadrant would have at least three community members on the school-closure committee.

"It gives us a metric to work with. Every part of the city would have some schools closed," said board member Michael DeBell.

Seattle Public Schools enrollment has fallen from 86,000 students in 117 schools in 1970 to 46,000 students in 94 schools.

"We have concluded that it is time to stop spending any more than is absolutely necessary on facilities and put every dollar that we can into the classrooms," Butler-Wall said.

Seattle Times staff reporter Nick Perry contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Time