(WSB photos and video)

Five hours after that rally outside Seattle Public Schools headquarters, stressing opposition to any school closures, the district superintendent and board moved ahead with a plan to propose up to five.

First, the board approved this resolution setting some parameters for superintendent Dr. Brent Jones‘s forthcoming proposal, including a directive to create a community task force. Our area’s school board director Gina Topp was a co-sponsor of the resolution and said she hoped it would help rebuild trust. The board, at the behest of director Brandon Hersey, added language underscoring that five would be the maximum number of closures proposed – for next year, anyway.

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Jones presented his progress report on the plan, with two major headlines: He says he’s planning to release his proposed list of up to five schools “around October 21”; just one list, no alternative “options” like last time. And he said the intention will be for those five school “communities” to stay together as they are consolidated into other campuses, so the students and staff can move together. Here are both of the two slides he showed:

However, the demonstration before the meeting, led again by the coalition All Together for Seattle Schools, stressed that even one closure is too many.

Speakers included West Seattle parents whose schools had been on the now-scrapped lists – including Katie Lewis from Louisa Boren STEM K-8:

Boren has an indefinite reprieve, because the new short list is not supposed to include any K-8 or option schools. No such reassurance for the other West Seattle school that like Boren was on both of Dr. Jones’s previous lists, Sanislo Elementary. Sanislo parent Briana Herman-Brand spoke at the board meeting as well as at the rally, noting that the school’s small size “is part of its magic,”

Rather than closing schools, the coalition wants to see the state fully fund them. The board talked about a possible lobbying trip to Olympia; closure opponents implored them to make use of the community energy. Before the rally, we talked with a Gatewood Elementary parent who said their PTA is circulating an open letter to the governor, calling for a special legislative session “to fully fund public schools.” You can see the letter – and add your name if you want to – by going to gatewoodpta.org/openletter.