Protests begin over Seattle Public Schools closures

More than three dozen parents and children rallied outside Seattle’s Sacajawea Elementary School with signs and chants early Wednesday morning to protest its proposed closing.

Sacajawea is one of four elementary schools the Seattle School Board recently approved to close before the 2025-26 school year. Next year, students from Sacajawea will attend John Rogers Elementary instead.

Here is a breakdown of the other schools and students impacted:

• Students from North Beach Elementary will attend Viewlands Elementary School.
• Stevens Elementary students will attend Montlake Elementary School.
• Sanislo Elementary students will attend Highland Park Elementary School at Highland Park.

Seattle School District Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones recommended the four closures to the School Board, citing significant budget shortfalls. In a letter to parents on Oct. 24, Jones said the district faces a $94 million shortfall for the upcoming 2025-26 school year due, in part, to declining enrollment, driven by rising housing costs, the ongoing impact of COVID, and a shift toward home-based instruction and private schools. However, Jones mostly blamed a lack of needed state funding.

Background: Seattle Public Schools announces closures and consolidations

“We find ourselves at a critical financial juncture,” Jones said in his letter to families. “Yet, despite these challenges, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) remains a place where excellence thrives. We proudly serve nearly 50,000 students, offering enriching academic experiences, extracurricular activities, and vital special education services. Our goal is to preserve these opportunities and ensure every student, in every school, has access to high-quality education and the support they need to grow.”

During the rally and protest at Sacajawea Elementary, organized by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, parents also blamed a lack of state funding, but they are not letting the Seattle School District off the hook. Several parents want the district to cut administrative budgets instead of closing schools.

All four of  Joshua Newman’s children attended or are currently enrolled at Sacajawea. He said both state and district school leaders need to balance their budgets better. “The district needs to look at its own operations and its own administrative costs and not lay the burden on where, frankly, the value is actually added and that’s the teachers, and by the individual principals and staff who are involved in the kids’ lives,” said Newman.

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The district originally drafted two proposals to close 21-schools, but later scaled-down those proposals. Their current plan impacting the four elementary schools is undergoing a 30-day review period and the district says it will benefit programs and services at remaining schools like pre-kindergarten programs, support staff and additional space for students with disabilities.

The district said it will hold public hearings in November and December at the four elementary schools before a School Board hearing and final vote scheduled for January. In the meantime, advocacy groups like All Together for Seattle Schools are calling on people to pressure lawmakers to secure more state funding for schools. If they don’t come up with a solution, parents like Newman fear the community and their children will lose much more than a school. “The community is amazing. It’s just been so supportive over the years. It’s a huge part of the their childhood, it’s a huge part of their identity. They grew up here. It is part of who they are,” said Newman.

Luke Duecy is a reporter for KIRO Newsradio.