At one of the first site-specific public meetings to discuss the latest Seattle Public Schools closure recommendations, many spoke in favor of the school-generated proposal that would merge Fairmount Park students at High Point Elementary School.

Based on a community advisory committee's findings, schools Superintendent Raj Manhas has recommended closing nine school buildings, including Fairmount Park. Public meetings were held at each effected school last week and Manhas will release his final recommendations July 5.

Only seven people spoke at the meeting held in Fairmount's auditorium last Monday. Susan Kliewer, who said she was speaking on behalf of Fairmount staff and students, said the merger is a positive solution that will create more resources for all the students.

"It'll be sad for the building to close, but it's exciting for these kids that they are able to move nearby," said Kliewer. The schools are less than a mile apart and already share school librarians, psychologists and buses.

Supporters of the proposal say the idea makes sense because the schools have similar demographics. More than 90 percent of the students at High Point are on the free and reduced lunch program and nearly 80 percent of Fairmount Park students qualify for the federal program. Both schools are more than three-quarters nonwhite and about 20 percent are bilingual.

Brett Jelinek, a former literacy tutor at Fairmount, said even though the school is successful on its own, the merger is a good option because it will keep the students and some of the staff intact. But Jelinek criticized the district's closure process, saying it has "pitted schools against each other."

"This should be done on a school-by-school basis," he said. "Don't just throw out a random number of school to close."

In March, the school board appointed a 14-member community advisory committee to choose 11 elementary and alternative schools to close in order to reduce the district's projected multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. The committee based their decision on a number of criteria, such as academic achievement, family satisfaction and building condition. The current proposal would close nine school buildings.

The committee's preliminary recommendations would have closed High Point and Fairmount Park programs and moved the Pathfinder K-8 program (now at Genesee Hill, which is slated for closure) to the High Point building. But because the newest recommendations include the merger at High Point, the district proposes moving Pathfinder to the Louisa Boren building in the Delridge neighborhood.

The Pathfinder community has voiced strong opposition to that recommendation, saying that Boren is no better than the Genessee Hill facility. According to school district reports, Genessee Hill has a $4 million backlog of maintenance and repair. Boren needs about $9 million in repairs.

Lori Reinhardt, who spoke on behalf of Pathfinder, said the school is supportive of the Fairmount/High Point merger. But the recommendation has "displaced Pathfinder once again," she said.

The school board is reviewing other options for Pathfinder, including moving the program to Fairmount.

But Pathfinder staff and parents who recently toured the school said Fairmount doesn't' have enough teaching stations to accommodate their K-8 program.

"We just aren't exactly sure how to fit a round hole in a square peg, though it's a wonderful facility," said Reinhardt.

Another Pathfinder parent, George Tibbets, said Fairmount is a viable option for Pathfinder. He said it doesn't make sense that the district would close Fairmount and not Boren, which has lower ratings in terms of educational adequacy and building condition, according to school district reports.

"This is a better school than Boren," said Tibbets. "I see signs that this place is loved. Why is this school being closed? I don't see why (the district) doesn't use the extra capacity in Fairmount rather than shunting us to Boren. There's a right answer here, but the answer is not what we have at the moment."

West Seattle resident Terry Simpson said that closing any school in the southwest area of the city is a bad idea because the population is growing. Younger families with children are replacing the older ones, and as housing costs rise in the city, more families will opt for public schools than private to save money, he said.

"This is not the time to be shrinking this area," said Simpson.

The district expects to save $3 million a year in day-to-day expenses for each school closed and more than $300 million in potential capital improvements. There will be a final public hearing on July 19 at the district headquarters before the school board votes on July 26. Closures are scheduled to begin in fall 2007.

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com