July 2024 update
On July 17, 2024, the "Fund SPS" ad-hoc committee of the North Beach PTA did a presentation on Zoom on the latest status of SPS funding issues and school consolidations.
The slides for that presentation are posted here:
North Beach Fund SPS presentation 2024-07-17.pdf
Summary
Looking ahead
Useful information
SPS budget
State-wide problem
Right-sizing
Closure criteria
SPS will use many criteria for choosing schools to close:
Implications of school closures
Will North Beach close?
We don’t know.
Factors that increase the chances of North Beach closing:
Factors that decrease the chances of North Beach closing:
Our perspective
Our North Beach community matters to us and is a huge positive force in our lives. Just like every other school that will potentially be closed. Therefore, we are taking a stand against school consolidation in its current form, not just for North Beach but for all the kids in Seattle. All of our communities have value and deserve to be saved.
We encourage our members to communicate the following when reaching out to elected officials.
How to take action
Larger organizations
We are aware of two organizations that are doing effective advocacy on these issues at the Seattle district-wide level and at the state level. These are volunteer organizations run by community members just like you. Get in touch with them and get involved!
Resources
If you'd like to learn more, the following resources have been the most useful to us in the North Beach community.
Neutral sources
Opinion pieces
This page was last updated on 7/23/2024.
On July 17, 2024, the "Fund SPS" ad-hoc committee of the North Beach PTA did a presentation on Zoom on the latest status of SPS funding issues and school consolidations.
The slides for that presentation are posted here:
North Beach Fund SPS presentation 2024-07-17.pdf
Summary
- North Beach will be open this year (2024-25)
- No school closures have been announced yet
- SPS plans to close about 20 of the 73 schools in Seattle that serve K-5
- Closures are motivated by an SPS budget crisis and declining enrollment
- List of closures is expected September 2024
- 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
Looking ahead
- September 2024 - June 2025: North Beach will be open for 2024-25 school year
- September 2024: SPS staff will present list of school closures
- November 2024: Washington voters will elect a new governor, and will vote on state legislators and ballot initiatives, all of which will impact school funding.
- December 2024: The Seattle School Board will vote to finalize plan for school consolidation.
- January - March 2025: The Washington State Legislature will be in session. (See information below on contacting your state legislature representatives.)
- Fall 2025: School closures take effect
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.
Right-sizing
- SPS enrollment has declined in recent years, from a peak of 56,000 students in 2019-20 to 51,000 in 2023-24
- SPS elementary-school enrollment started declining earlier, from a peak of 30,000 students in 2016-17 to 26,000 students in 2023-24
- SPS is forecasting long-term enrollment declines due to demographic factors: smaller families, lower birthrates, and fewer children
- SPS is aiming for about 85% utilization in elementary, middle, and high schools. Middle and high schools are currently at the target level of 85% utilization, but elementary schools are only 65% utilized
- SPS aims to increase utilization in elementary schools by decreasing capacity (closing schools)
- SPS could reach 85% utilization for elementary schools by closing as few as 12 schools, but SPS has said they are planning to close 20.
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
Will North Beach close?
We don’t know.
Factors that increase the chances of North Beach closing:
- Age of building. North Beach is one of the older buildings in SPS.
- Learning environment (design of the building). North Beach has the worst “learning environment” rating of all elementary schools in the Northwest region in SPS.
- Proximity to newly-renovated schools like Viewlands and Loyal Heights. Also, Viewlands itself is close to James Baldwin, another new school with extra capacity.
Factors that decrease the chances of North Beach closing:
- Utilization. North Beach is bursting at the seams and is the most over-utilized elementary school in the Northwest region in SPS.
- Enrollment trend. North Beach and Loyal Heights are two of the fastest-growing elementary schools in SPS.
Our perspective
Our North Beach community matters to us and is a huge positive force in our lives. Just like every other school that will potentially be closed. Therefore, we are taking a stand against school consolidation in its current form, not just for North Beach but for all the kids in Seattle. All of our communities have value and deserve to be saved.
We encourage our members to communicate the following when reaching out to elected officials.
- Closing schools won’t bring stability and sustainability to Seattle Public Schools.
- Beyond closing schools, the well-resourced school plan is inadequate and unacceptable because it reduces the resources available at most schools.
- The plan should be rejected by the school board in its current form.
- The state legislature needs to fully fund public education. This is a state-wide problem and it needs to be fixed at the state level.
How to take action
- Sign the open letter from All Together For Seattle Schools
- Email the school board and voice your concerns:
- General email: [email protected]
- Sarah Clark, District 2 School Board Representative: [email protected]
- Liza Rankin, District 1 School Board Representative: [email protected]
- Superintendent Brent Jones: [email protected]
- Ask your legislators to fully fund education.
- If you have two minutes or less: Fill out this form letter.
- If you have more time, write personalized messages to our representatives:
- Sign up for email updates to stay informed over the summer.
Larger organizations
We are aware of two organizations that are doing effective advocacy on these issues at the Seattle district-wide level and at the state level. These are volunteer organizations run by community members just like you. Get in touch with them and get involved!
Resources
If you'd like to learn more, the following resources have been the most useful to us in the North Beach community.
Neutral sources
- Seattle Public Schools:
- Well-Resourced Schools update, presented at the SPS school board meeting, 6/26/2024
- Well-Resourced Schools (click to expand "Frequently Asked Questions")
- 2023-24 Adopted Budget
- Seattle Times (paywall):
- Seattle Hall Pass podcast:
- Andy Brauninger, Elementary school enrollment and utilization June 2024
- Washington Legislature: A Citizen's Guide to Washington State K-12 Finance, 2022
- Washington State House Office of Program Research: An Overview of K-12 Funding, January 2023
- Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI): Budget Preparations (detailed annual numbers on state education spending)
- Pew Charitable Trusts: Closing Public Schools in Philadelphia: Lessons from Six Urban Districts, October 2011
- Washington State Supreme Court: McCleary, et al. v. State of Washington, 2010 - 2018
Opinion pieces
- Robert Cruickshank:
- Danny Westneat (Seattle Times), Closing schools, Seattle? Don’t forget what happened last time, 5/11/2024
This page was last updated on 7/23/2024.