Schools close as communities protest

Noelle Shin

Magnolia community members rally for K-8 schools on Sept. 17, 2024 with the goal of keeping their schools open.

Two lists of local K-8 and option schools that would possibly be closed by the 2025-26 school year were released and local communities were brought outside to rally for their schools. The Seattle Public Schools board of directors has been inclined to close local schools due to the detrimental budget deficit that the state is suffering from.

According to the district, the decline in student enrollment and the reduction in federal funding is the cause of the budget deficit. The budget crisis was what pushed the district to propose a multitude of plans to ease the issue.

Throughout 2019-2023, there has been an enrollment decrease of about 4,900 students in Seattle Public Schools (SPS), and SPS has estimated a $94 million budget gap for the 2025-2026 school year. The result of those numbers was the announcement that the district could be cutting numerous local schools.

Freshman Leo Fedele, a former Catharine Blaine student, first heard about the situation in September.

“I’ve heard about two potential plans from the district,” Fedele said. “Both involve Blaine shutting down.”

The two initial options were released on Sept. 11, 2024, and would have played out as such: Option A would result in 21 schools closing and would save $31.5 million. Option B would close 17 schools and save $25.5 million.

In response to the proposals, students, teachers and families were frustrated and concerned. 

Hundreds of those individuals rallied in September to keep schools open. They carried signs that displayed colorful statements like “Save our school!”. 

Fedele attended one of those rallies to advocate for Catharine Blaine and witnessed the crowds of chanting people with signs.

“I went to one rally a few weeks ago,” Fedele said. “It was pretty cool to see so many families and teachers there to support Blaine.”

Freshman Lucas Silver, also a former student from Catharine Blaine, described K-8 schools as becoming more of a community than just a school.

“The community is really great,” Silver said. “Everybody knows each other because it’s such a small school.”

Fedele also had much to say about his fondness for Catharine Blaine. He attended the school from kindergarten to eighth grade.

“

The response from students, staff  and families was certainly driven by genuine care for their schools. Those who rallied felt as if they were losing their communities.

After the two proposals were released, students also began to become concerned for where they would relocate to for the 2025-2026 school year.

Fedele describes how his own family had experienced such a dilemma with his sibling when Options A and B were first released.

“I have a little brother that is in seventh grade at Blaine,” Fedele said. “ He was pretty upset to hear that it could close.”

Freshman Ayden Vallejo, a peer of Fedele and Silver, expressed similar hardships regarding his own sibling when wondering where his younger brother would go to school if Options A or B were implemented.

“If the school were to shut down, he would have to go to another school where there’s not as much community or involvement,” Vallejo said.

Families were worried about how relocating schools could backfire. For many families, the schools on the chopping block were the most convenient and strong sources of education that they had access to.

After the initial backlash, on Oct. 1, 2024, SPS made another proposal regarding the budget issue; this time, five schools would close for the sake of budget. K-8 and option schools will live to see another school year.