Seattle School Districts Proposes Another Round of School Closures

11/26/2008

Hundreds of students in Seattle Public Schools may have to pack up their backpacks and move next year. Last night, school officials unveiled a complex plan to close down seven school buildings. The school closure plan is likely to spark heated opposition from parents. KUOW's Deborah Wang reports.

SCHOOL OFFICIALS UNVEILED THE PLAN AT A LENGTHY PUBLIC MEETING LAST NIGHT.

THEY BEGAN BY MAKING THEIR CASE FOR SCHOOL CLOSURES. ENROLLMENTS HAVE BEEN ON THE DECLINE OVER THE PAST DECADE, AND BUDGETS ARE NOW TIGHT. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FACES A 24 MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET SHORTFALL IN THE YEAR 2010.

UNDER THE PLAN, 7 SCHOOL BUILDINGS WOULD BE SHUT DOWN: AS1, NOVA, TT MINOR, LOWELL, VAN ASSELT, AND GENNESSEE HILL. 5 PROGRAMS WOULD BE DISCONTINUED ENTIRELY, INCLUDING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ACADEMY, MEANY MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND ARBOR HEIGHTS. STUDENTS FROM A TOTAL OF 9 SCHOOLS WOULD BE MOVED TO OTHER LOCATIONS.

THE CITY'S CENTRAL DISTRICT BEARS THE BRUNT OF THE CHANGE, WITH 3 SCHOOLS SLATED TO CLOSE IN THAT CLUSTER. SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT MARIA GOODLOE JOHNSON EXPLAINS WHY.

GOODLOE–JOHNSON: "The whole reason that we went down this course was based on several audits that have told us that we specifically have too much excess capacity in our buildings. We have the most significant number of elementary excess capacity in the Central Area."

AT THE SAME TIME, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WANTS TO OPEN AN ADDITIONAL SCHOOL IN THE NORTH END OF TOWN. SCHOOLS THERE ARE OVERCROWDED AND ENROLLMENT IS PROJECTED TO GROW.

THIS IS THE 2ND TIME IN 2 YEARS THAT SCHOOL CLOSURES HAVE BEEN ON THE TABLE. IN 2006, THE DISTRICT CLOSED 7 SCHOOLS AFTER A LENGTHY AND BITTER PROCESS.

PARENTS AT LAST NIGHT'S MEETING VOWED TO FIGHT TO SAVE THEIR SCHOOLS. AMY UBINAS HELD UP A SIGN THAT SAYS WE LOVE TT MINOR.

VENUS: "We're not going to go down without a fight, we're not going to go down quietly, we are going to stand up for our school because we are standing up for our children, we are not going to let it happen."

AND PARENTS AT ARBOR HEIGHTS QUESTION WHY THEIR PROGRAM IS SHUTTING DOWN SO THAT ANOTHER PROGRAM, PATHFINDER K–8, CAN MOVE IN.

DEBBIE TAYLOR CALLS THE PLAN A HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF THE SCHOOL.

TAYLOR: "You know our building isn't going to be quote closed but its going to be re–purposed. With a program that is already in existence in another school, their building is too old, they need another building so all of a sudden we're out and they're in? It makes no sense!"

PARENTS HAVE ABOUT 6 WEEKS TO MAKE THEIR VIEWS ON THE PLAN KNOWN. THE SCHOOL BOARD IS SCHEDULED TO VOTE ON THE FINAL SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE END OF JANUARY. AND THE CHANGES ARE SET TO BE PUT INTO PLACE BY THE FALL NEXT YEAR.

I'M DEBORAH WANG, KUOW NEWS.

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