SSC Co-op Preschools and Pathfinder K-8 invite families to a film screening tomorrow, with a chance to talk with the producer. Here’s the announcement they asked us to share:

Families Embracing Anti-Bias Values: Film Screening and Q/A with Producer Debbie LeeKeenan

Olympic Hall, South Seattle College Campus
Thursday, October 24 6:30–8:00 PM

Childcare available for 5+. Pre-registration is required.

Join us for a special screening, in partnership with Pathfinder K-8, of the new film Families Embracing Anti-Bias Values. This film, produced by Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo, is a 50-minute documentary about families who intentionally parent with an anti-bias lens. Debbie and John partnered with filmmaker Filiz Efe McKinney of Brave Sprout Productions to create a film that raises up the voices of multiple families with diverse identities, talking about their hopes, fears, strengths, challenges, and questions as they figure out: What kind of world do we want to create with our children? There will be opportunities for questions and discussion with Debbie after the viewing. Watch the trailer here. Tickets are $5. RSVP here.

The college is at 6000 16th SW; the screening venue is toward the south end of the campus.

Today was the date around which Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Brent Jones had said he expected to release his list of up to five school closures. But – no list yet. We checked with SPS’s media team late in the day and they said they weren’t expecting anything today but “We’re hoping for later this week.” Meantime, West Seattle/South Park School Board Director Gina Topp has set her next community-conversation meeting for Sunday (October 27), 11 am-noon in person at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond);

We weren’t at Chief Sealth International High School‘s Friday night football game because they played on the road, but did want to report that the Seahawks beat Nathan Hale, 34-20, at Northeast Athletic Complex. Head coach Daron Camacho‘s team is now 6-1, second in the Metro League.

(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.

When we reported Monday night on Seattle Public Schools‘ proposed $1.8 billion, six-year capital-levy renewal/expansion – BEX VI (aka the sixth “Building Excellence” levy) – we noted the biggest West Seattle project on its list is a $50 million addition for Career Technical Education at Chief Sealth International High School. We also noted that the levy document linked to the agenda for next week’s School Board meeting (4:15 pm October 9) has no other details about the proposed project, and that the process of developing the levy list did not involve community consultation the way BEX V did. So we had to ask SPS’s media team to dig up details on the proposal, which they’ve done over the past few days. According to district spokesperson Tina Riss Christiansen:

An addition to Chief Sealth International High School is proposed to meet the needs of the Career and Technical Education Program, eliminate the eight portables along the west property edge, and enhance energy conservation, addressing both State of Washington Clean Energy and City of Seattle’s Building Emissions requirements.

The classroom addition is planned to be added at the northern portion of the existing school and will include relocating the existing Career and Technical Education construction trades classroom from the basement and the food service classroom from the interior of the building. Both classrooms are undersized for the student populations they serve and poorly located for routinely transporting the materials and supplies required to meet the educational program needs.

In addition, SPS plans to construct eight general education classrooms.

The project is contingent on School Board approval of the levy projects and voter approval of the levy. Construction is planned to occur with students remaining on-site.

The $50M is divided 2/3 construction and 1/3 A/E fees, permit costs, construction contingency, furnishings, and Washington State Sales Tax.

No renderings yet, the district says, because design work won’t start until and unless the levy – one of two that the district plans to send to voters in February – is approved.

We are in the process of scheduling community information meetings on both levies after the Oct. 9, 2024, Board Meeting and Study Session.

Adding proposed project information to the website is also in progress.

Another development in Seattle Public Schools‘ winding road toward possibly closing schools to save money. Last month, West Seattle/South Park school board director Gina Topp suggested that the superintendent come up with a Option C – closing a handful of schools for starters, rather than the 20+ in the officially unveiled Options A and B. Late today, superintendent Dr. Brent Jones did just that, saying he’ll propose five schools for closure in the 2025-2026 school year – though he didn’t say which five, though he did say the list will NOT include K-8 or option schools. Here’s his full message:

Dear SPS families, staff, and community,

Thank you for taking the time to express your thoughts about our plan to develop a system of well-resourced schools. I heard you loud and clear, and I understand the many valid concerns you have about the plan in its current form.

We know we need the support of our students, families, and staff to uplift a large-scale change such as this. My hope is that we can work together to re-establish a level of trust that allows us to move forward in a way that honors our school communities.

After taking some time to reflect on your feedback, I have developed a revised plan that will support addressing the budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year while taking steps to right-size our school system. Under this revision, I intend to propose consolidating five schools for the 2025-26 school year. What we learn from this initial set of schools will guide our future action.

It is also clear our families value many of the offerings we have in our district. Under the revised plan, K-8 and option schools – including those with specialized service models like Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Dual Language Immersion – are not under consideration for the upcoming school year.

Like many districts, SPS is facing declining enrollment and very real budget challenges. This new approach aims to reduce disruption while helping us balance budgets in the coming years. We are working hard to close an approximate $100 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year. Each consolidation will moderately lower this deficit, contributing to our long-term financial stability.

Selection Criteria for Consolidations
Over the next few weeks, the Well-Resourced Schools team and I will determine the five schools recommended for consolidation for the 2025-26 school year. A third-party expert will validate the evaluation process to ensure transparency and accountability.

The selection process is based on the following criteria:

-Building condition: Physical building safety and health levels
-Learning environment: Facility’s design in support of all types of learning
-Analyzing enrollment and capacity: Facility’s ability to hold 400+ students, including space for intensive IEP services and preschool classrooms
-Minimizing disruption for students and staff: Facility’s ability to keep as many students and families together as possible
-Maintaining student access to specialized service models: Facility’s ability to house the resources students need to thrive

What’s Next
We expect to share preliminary recommendations with the Board by the end of October.

We encourage you to stay engaged and share your thoughts as we navigate this important decision together. We will be hosting community gatherings for both general information purposes as well as to share specific plans and transition supports for impacted schools.

We are listening, and we value your input — it is critical in shaping a stronger future for our students.

Please submit your questions or feedback through our Let’s Talk form.

Thank you for caring so deeply about the future of our schools and for your continued support.

This means two West Seattle schools that were under consideration for closures or changes – Boren STEM K-8 was on both closure-option lists, and one list would have changed Pathfinder K-8 to a regular elementary school – have a reprieve, for now. But two other West Seattle schools will have to wait and see if they are still being considered – Sanislo Elementary was on both closure option lists, and Lafayette Elementary was on one. Meantime, while trying to address a $100 million budget gap, the district was meeting today to consider a contract extension and raise for Jones, and is scheduled next week to consider sending $2.4 billion worth of levy renewals/expansions to voters (as reported here last night).

Even while dealing with an immediate budget shortfall that might lead to school closures, Seattle Public Schools is moving ahead with renewal/expansion plans for two levies, the operations levy and the capital levy (BEX). The recommendations for both are currently scheduled to go before the School Board next week, at its October 9 meeting, and some information already is available via the early version of the meeting agenda. They are both proposed to go to voters next February.

The biggest of the two is the six-year BEX VI capital levy, proposed for $1.8 billion, up from the $1.4 billion voters approved in 2018 in its predecessor BEX V. This one includes many projects around the district; the biggest in our area would be a $50 million addition for Chief Sealth International High School, described only as “CTE addition” (Career and Technical Education). The board resolution also mentions smaller local projects including $1 million for fire-alarm work at Highland Park Elementary and athletic-field work at district-owned Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex and Denny International Middle School. (The spending breakout starts on page 7 of the resolution.)

We haven’t yet found documents with full details on these projects; the process leading up to this list has included a lot less public involvement than the previous capital levies. BEX V, in comparison – the levy that funded the Alki Elementary rebuild and West Seattle Elementary expansion, among other things – had myriad public planning meetings, WSB archives show.

As for the Educational Programs and Operations levy, it’s proposed for $673 million over three years; the one that’s expiring raised $646 million. The text of this resolution has not yet been added to the board agenda. The page for the current EPO levy says it provides funding for some staff, support programs, athletics, and the arts. That page also noted, “Local levies, which must be approved by Seattle voters, provide 15% of the SPS operating budget.” We’ll be following up with the district for more information before the board meeting.

P.S. The board has a special online meeting tomorrow to consider extending superintendent Dr. Brent Jones‘s contract.

Looking at the week ahead: Chief Sealth International High School‘s PTSA will host its first general meeting of the school year on Tuesday night (October 1). Michelle Riggen-Ransom from the PTSA says the agenda has two major highlights: Principal Ray Morales will talk about school safety, and Academic Intervention Specialist Rachel Evans will answer questions about the upcoming PSAT and SAT testing sessions. All are welcome, not just parents, teachers, and students, but also interested community members; the PTSA meets in the CSIHS library, 6:30-8 pm.