All Together for Seattle Schools Statement on today’s SPS School Closure Plan 

We are disappointed that Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is moving forward with closing four public schools. They are proceeding despite evidence their justification for closures is flawed, evidence that closures harm students, and overwhelming public opposition. We strongly oppose this proposal and will rally the community to oppose it and any other closure plans.

School closures cause student harm.  

District leadership continues to ignore concrete evidence from Seattle’s history and other cities around the country that consistently shows school closures cause long-lasting harm to student learning and wellbeing, disrupts social bonds, worsens inequities inherent in the district’s planned closures and cuts, and that research shows closures and consolidations harm marginalized communities.

Closing schools is not the answer to a budget problem. 

SPS’ framing of this new closure plan as “part of a larger strategy to stabilize finances” is completely unjustified. Selectively picking four schools to close will not even make a dent in the District’s $100M budget deficit, as it will save less than $7.5M according to the district’s best estimates. The remaining schools will still not be well-resourced due to other budget cuts. Enrollment levels cannot justify closures either. The District projected that enrollment would decline by hundreds of students, but new data shows enrollment flatlined in recent years and now has begun to grow: preschool and kindergarten enrollment is up 2.7% and 1.3%, respectively. More funding from the state legislature, rather than closing schools, is the only way to stabilize SPS’s budget. 

The District’s lack of community engagement has eroded public trust. 

Hundreds of parents, teachers, students and community members signed up to publicly oppose the District’s closure plan at the last two public meetings. We have also been heartened by the strong opposition to school closures shown by Director Sarah Clark in her powerful op-ed in the Seattle Times and in her vote against the closure resolution. We’re also heartened by public statements against closures from Seattle Education Association representatives and the Seattle Student Union. Unfortunately, the Superintendent and the School Board have chosen to ignore this powerful, honest, and vulnerable testimony from diverse community members representing dozens of schools. 

We urge SPS to change course. 

We know SPS does not intend to stop with four closures. SPS leaders have been clear that they still want to close up to 20 schools in future years. We remain committed to opposing school closures, cuts in the classroom, and further degradation and elimination of programs. Rather than make closures that harm students and won’t come close to addressing our budget gap, SPS should join us in asking the legislature to close the entire budget deficit for districts across Washington State.