School
Consolidation and Closure Phase II
On July 26, following a series of public hearings to collect and
review community testimony, the Seattle School Board, by a vote of
5-2, approved Superintendent Raj Manhas' final recommendation on
school consolidation and closure.
In
addition to its vote on Phase I, the School Board directed the
Superintendent to enter into a second phase of school consolidation
and closure. Specifically, the Superintendent has been asked
to:
- Recommend the closure
of another school in the North, Northeast, or Northwest Cluster;
another school in the Central Cluster; and another school in West
Seattle;
- Evaluate the
feasibility of closing Wilson Pacific; and
- Work closely with the
communities in West Seattle to identify a more appropriate location
for Pathfinder K-8.
The
work of Phase II is built on the work of the CAC, and the
activities and analysis of the Superintendent's Preliminary and
Final Recommendations; and use the same closure and consolidation
principles and criteria initially set out by the School
Board.
Important Documents
Regarding School Consolidation & Closure Phase
II
Providing Feedback
on the Superintendent’s Preliminary Recommendation Phase
II
Feedback on the
Superintendent’s Preliminary Recommendation is welcome.
Opportunities to provide comments include:
- Email feedback@seattleschools.org
- Write to the
Superintendent and School Board at Seattle Public Schools, Board of
Directors, MS 11-010, PO Box 34165, Seattle, WA 98124
-
Sign-up to provide public testimony at School Board
meetings
School Closure
Background and Information
The
discussion about school closures and consolidations began in
January 2006 when the School Board announced its decision to
appoint a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to make school closure
and consolidation recommendations. The CAC’s final
recommendations were released to the Superintendent on May 30,
2006.
The
Superintendent’s Final Recommendations, released to the
School Board on July 5, 2006, called for a “Phase II”
of closures, designed to identify additional buildings.
On
July 26, 2006 the School Board voted to approve all seven
recommended closures in Phase I as well as to approve the
Superintendent’s Phase II plan. The seven closures were:
Rainier View, Columbia, Fairmount Park, Hughes, John Marshall,
Viewlands, and Martin Luther King. The final vote was 5-2 in favor
of school closures.
