School closings — big losses, small gains

Seattle Schools Superintendent Raj Manhas' bold plan to close and retool dozens of schools represents thin progress.

Manhas goes further than any superintendent in recent memory to reshape the school system into a more-efficient one. He jettisons the citywide choice plan for the economy of neighborhood schools. Best of all, he challenges academic inequities by promising every school will offer the rigor of the district's highly prized gifted programs. Unfortunately, Manhas fails to accomplish the single-most-important goal: saving money. The cost-savings — $2.6 million the first year and $3.2 million in succeeding years — are insufficient to stave off a $20 million projected budget gap. Nor does there appear to be extra money for the academic improvements needed to transform each school into an academic powerhouse.

This is unacceptable. The district proposes displacing 3,500 students. The upheaval is meaningful only if it frees up significant cash and paves the way for real progress in the struggling schools.

The challenge for Manhas will be justifying his choices. Closing North Beach and Montlake elementary schools seems nonsensical considering both are high academic performers and routinely carry waitlists. Surely, Manhas knows the value of keeping and encouraging the few schools that do extremely well. Closing these two schools results in a zero-sum gain if the parents turn to private schools.

Included in the draft proposal is an admirable attempt to address equity concerns in gifted programs. But the only certain outcome is the anger of parents of students at Garfield High School. There, Manhas proposes breaking up the concentration of advanced students and dispersing them districtwide.

But Garfield offers a comprehensive menu of advanced courses and some of the most experienced teachers in the city. Only one other high school, Roosevelt in the north end, comes close to rivaling Garfield's offerings. Manhas' promise to increase advanced curricula at all the high schools has all the firmness of clouds.

The same argument goes for alternative schools. The district may be right to close Summit K-12, but shouldn't it offer those students a similar education experience somewhere else?

The district got on the right track by identifying schools for closure. Public school enrollment in Seattle is flat, having declined from 86,000 students in 117 schools in 1970 to 46,000 students in 94 schools today. Thanks to the lack of leadership in the state Legislature, Washington ranks 42nd in per-pupil funding.

But the current plan has little meat. Over the next two months, the School Board and Manhas will fine-tune the overhaul of schools. They ought to come back with a vision of not only what parents are losing but what they stand to gain.