Some Seattle schools may have to be closed by next June because of a $24 million deficit the district is facing.
The first phase of a school board resolution will address capacity shortages in North Seattle, Queen Anne and Magnolia, but the deficit must by law be closed.
Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson said three different audits have revealed the district has an excess of approximately 9000 seats and too many buildings to stay on budget.
"We must reduce the number of buildings we maintain in order to use our available resources more effectively," said Cheryl Chow, School Board president in a press release.
Across the city, K-12 enrollment has seen fairly steady decline since 1999 said Tracy Libros, the planning and enrollment manager, and it is expected to continue to drop over the next 20 years.
Still Libros admits such projections are not always accurate. For example, when new housing complexes came to High Point the district expected a spike in kindergarten enrollment but hasn't seen it.
The district hopes that by evaluating the use of existing spaces, revising the student assignment plan, relocating programs and adding portables that resources will be better distributed to address changing demographics across the city.
According to an independent study, between 2007 and 2008 students enrolling in kindergarten in the north, northeast and northwest sectors increased by 127 students. Meanwhile, in the northern and southern West Seattle sectors there was an increase of just 35 students.
The study also anticipates that while the number of incoming kindergarten students in West Seattle will drop by an estimated 83 students during the 2009-2010 school year, it will increase by 41 students the following year with only slight declines in 2011 and 2012.
Comments can be sent to the School Board at schoolboard@seattleschools.org or School Board, PO Box 34165, MS 11-010, Seattle, WA 98124-1165. The School Board office phone number is 252-0040.
Rose Egge may be contacted at 932.0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com
