Seattle judge rules against parents in school closure suit

A group of parents who sued the Seattle School District were dealt a setback in a court hearing Tuesday in their challenge to the planned closure of five school buildings and the discontinuation of school programs such as the African American Academy.

King County Superior Court Judge Laura Inveen said the state law the parents cited in their suit applies to school buildings but not to school programs. The law uses the term "school property."

Scott Stafne, attorney for the nine parents who sued the district, argued the term includes both. The parents had asked for a summary judgment — an immediate ruling — that the scope of law could not be limited to school buildings. The judge disagreed.

In a separate ruling, Inveen told the district it has 14 days to produce all public comment about the planned closures.

Part of the parents' motion claims the district failed to follow proper procedure in the way it conducted public hearings before announcing which schools and programs would close.

Stafne said three thick notebooks the district had compiled as its record of public comment about the proposed changes "had been literally stripped of public testimony."

He cited as an example a 20-page letter from a concerned parent, that he said had been reduced by the district to "a one-sentence bullet point."

A hearing was set for Jan. 4 for the judge to rule on the case.

Stafne said if the district doesn't produce all public comment submitted, he'll ask the court declare the closures invalid.