By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If anyone in the overflow crowd at the West Seattle (Admiral) Library tonight was just there hoping to hear new information from West Seattle/South Park school board director Gina Topp about the “retooling” of Seattle Public Schools’ closure proposals, they went home disappointed.
“Anyone who watched [last week’s] board meeting knows as much as I do,” Topp insisted, when asked if the district was still trying to come up with a plan that would take effect at the start of next school year. “The timeline is very confusing … I’m not sure what to expect at our next meeting.” (That’s two weeks away, on October 9.) She said she could only speculate that superintendent Dr. Brent Jones had heard the uproar and was “readjusting for us.”
Topp’s meeting lasted only 45 minutes due to library policy about ending events 15 minutes before closing time (today happened to be the first day of the fall-season 6 pm closing time for this branch on Wednesdays). But she spent almost all of it listening. Most of the parents, teachers, and students who spoke identified themselves as affiliated with one of the West Seattle schools facing possible closure/changes in at least one of the two “options” the superintendent had originally announced – Louisa Boren STEM K-8, Sanislo Elementary, Lafayette Elementary, Pathfinder K-8.
One of the first parents to speak complained that the district had offered “no opportunity for meaningful public input” before releasing the proposals. The pre-plan community meetings (WSB coverage here and here) had been “vague” at best. She suggested the board create a parent advisory group.
Topp agreed with the criticism: “That was part of the mistake made, we didn’t bring the community along.” But, she warned, “We still have to close a $100 million budget gap … there are no good decisions on the table .. we asked the superintendent to come up with a plan to close schools and get better student outcomes, seems like almost an impossible task.”
Several parents wondered about other ways to close that gap. Legislators hold funding power, Topp reminded them. What about the companies based here that are worth “trillions”? one wondered late in the meeting. How could the community advocate for them to help?
The most poignant stories were from people who said that closing their school would be like losing a family. A Lafayette dad said that he has talked to other parents and “more than half” vowed to “drop out and go private,” so the administration should consider the further attrition that would result from closures. That could lead to a death spiral in funding – fewer students, fewer dollars. Topp agreed that should be considered.
The closure plans would affect schools that stayed open, by redrawing their attendance boundaries, and a Gatewood Elementary mom said she had been trying to get information on how that would affect current students and siblings – and the district employees with whom she’d spoken didn’t know. On a similar note, another parent wondered about the middle-schoolers who would be moved from K-8s like Boren and Pathfinder (which one “option” suggests converting to a regular neighborhood elementary school). What about the overcrowding that’s already a problem at middle schools?
A Boren teacher/parent decried the effects the original options would have in the Delridge area, with Sanislo and Boren on both lists, and another also including the Pathfinder change. “I really feel like there was no equity lens being used … the Delridge corridor was being gutted … our schools are so central to the community (which was the) epicenter of redlining for a long time.” She drew major applause.
“I’ve seen this train wreck for 12 years,” declared another parent who shared recollections dating back even further, to the school closures in the late ’00s. “It was a nightmare” – leaving Schmitz Park Elementary with more than a dozen portables, among other examples. “I have no confidence the district accurately estimates enrollment,” she said, expressing skepticism that enrollment would be as low as projected, given new housing policies further densifying neighborhoods, among other reasons. She also noted the costs of closing – and potentially reopening – schools. She wrapped up her turn by pleading for extra staff to help with the overcrowding at her kids’ current school, West Seattle HS.
Emotion continued running high. A Lafayette mom spoke of pulling her child from an independent school because of “issues … Lafayette took her in, and this is her community,” a community from which she would be torn if Lafayette were to close. The family had specifically chosen to buy a home within walking distance of Lafayette, Madison, and WSHS, but if the closures go through, they’ll leave the district again, she declared.
District communication to and beyond families had been abysmal, it also was noted – the potential closures are of interest to the entire community, so updates shouldn’t just be going to parents.
Topp had mentioned a concept she floated at last week’s board meeting, coming up with a short list of a few schools to close for starters, then learning from how that played out before possibly closing more. “How will you decide on a smaller set of schools?” one attendee asked. Topp said they could use the criteria already spelled out. She also suggested there were some obvious choices – maybe Sanislo, because it’s small but more expensive to operate, she said, with a chronically flooded playground and a nonfunctioning kitchen among other problems. She appreciated that the school loves its community, but, “I think we can do better by those kids.”
A former Sanislo student begged to differ, defending the school. “But we have to look at the budget deficit,” countered Topp. “But small communities are worth it,” insisted a parent. Topp could only say the decisions they’ll have to make one way or another are “horrific.”
Another STEM parent/teacher suggested that under the criteria, her school was erroneously targeted for closure. “STEM is wildly well-resourced, the community incredibly dedicated, there’s a vast three-classroom special ed program – each is a world that would cost (a lot) to relocate.” She went on to rhapsodize about the school’s large campus, the options for students like music and shop, and other unique attributes that would be tragic to lose.
And a Pathfinder 8th grader said the community at her school had been so much a family – a theme heard multiple times at the meeting – that her sixth-grade class had even created a family tree. “Why aren’t we thinking about the students?” she asked, saying closures would “rip their lives apart.” She too was resoundingly applauded.
Toward the end of the meeting, a few voices around the room shouted, “No school closures!” Will that be the result of the parental pushback? As Topp suggested, it’s not clear how soon we’ll find out.
P.S. Her email address, as written on the whiteboard during the meeting, is gktopp@seattleschools.org.
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