We just checked with Seattle Public Schools to see if the official dates were set for the public hearings at the school buildings proposed for closure – and this list is hot off the pixels. (We’d reported earlier that West Seattle School Board rep Steve Sundquist said this morning that he thought the West Seattle hearing would be December 16th, and he was right.) From the official announcement:

In order to strengthen academic programs across Seattle Public Schools and protect its long-term financial health, the School District is now considering building closures. Public hearings will be held at buildings proposed for closure from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the days and locations below.

Monday, Dec. 15, 2008
▪ T.T. Minor – 1700 E. Union St.
▪ Pinehurst – 11530 12th Ave. N.E.
▪ Van Asselt – 7201 Beacon Ave. S.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008
▪ Genesee Hill – 5012 S.W. Genesee St.
▪ Mann – 2410 E. Cherry St.
▪ Old Hay – 411 Boston St.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008
▪ Lowell – 1058 E. Mercer St.

Public testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per speaker, and should focus on the school building about which the hearing is being held. To sign up to give testimony, please call (206) 252-0042 or e-mail hearing@seattleschools.org.

For more information, visit www.seattleschools.org, and select “Capacity Management.” Comments may be e-mailed to capacity@seattleschools.org, schoolboard@seattleschools.org, or mailed to School Board,
P.O. Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA, 98124-1165.

Direct link to the “Capacity Management” page is here. We also have just created a coverage category for all reports we publish related to this round of school changes – you can click “West Seattle school closure” in the WSB CATEGORIES list on the right sidebar, or just bookmark this (you can subscribe to this category or any other one in RSS, if you read WSB that way – choose the RSS link next to the category name in that sidebar list).