Key Updates on School Closures and Consolidations

Dear SPS families,

On Tuesday, we had our scheduled school board meeting, and I am reaching out to share some key updates.

We are canceling our upcoming round of online community meetings at North Beach, Sacajawea, Sanislo, and Stevens elementary schools. We are doing so as the board has decided to delay the December closure and consolidation hearings, in part based on important input from families that we all value. As a result, I am considering withdrawing my earlier recommendations for closure and consolidation.

Our next step is to sit down with the school board for further planning. Having community meetings before or during these conversations would not be fair at this time.

Closing and consolidating schools is one of the hardest conversations we have ever had as a community. The conversations with affected school families, with the larger Seattle Public Schools community, our staff, and our board have been productive and at times painful. We understand that no one wants their beloved school to close – and we appreciate how much you love your schools, the teachers, the staff, and the culture that helps each student thrive.

I want to thank our school community for providing feedback as we work to address our budget gap and build a sustainable system so that every student thrives.

In partnership,

Dr. Brent Jones
Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools