Seattle Schools Begin Merger Talks
Enrollment falling below 50,000 triggers a months-long process of hearings and public input.
By Kevin Sanders ·
Seattle Public Schools has started formal discussions on merging campuses after student enrollment dropped below 50,000. Superintendent Ben Shuldiner announced the move in a letter to parents on Sunday, citing physical space constraints and instructional challenges at multiple sites.
In the letter, Shuldiner described visiting schools where students learn in buildings lacking interior walls. He also referenced campuses managing forced split-grade classrooms. Specific examples included a K-8 school with fewer than 50 students and a K-5 school with fewer than 120 students. Shuldiner stated that the district will not accept large class sizes or single-teacher grade levels if alternatives exist.
The district delayed these talks until it finalized a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Seattle Education Association. The contract, ratified in September, set staffing levels and class ratios. It also provided wage increases of 8.8% to 9.8% for teachers and nearly 11% for paraeducators over three years. Shuldiner noted that the district inherited a structural budget deficit after cutting roughly $50 million in spending earlier this year.
Shuldiner will visit staff and executive directors at potentially impacted schools this week. Family meetings at proposed receiving schools are scheduled for November through mid-December. A formal list of proposed mergers will then be presented to the Seattle School Board.
Communities will have a 60-day window for public hearings in January and February. The school board is expected to take action on the proposals in late February or early March. Shuldiner has not released a specific list of schools currently under consideration for closure or merger.
Families displaced by any approved closure will receive priority during open enrollment. The district will extend the transfer application window until one week after the final board decision. The full newsletter regarding the merger process is available on the Seattle Public Schools website.
Source: KZJO
