School-closures list trimmed

A revised school-closure plan is smaller, less disruptive and, by some accounts, more politically palatable than a list released two weeks ago.

The new set of citizen-committee recommendations removes one of the most racially charged debates from the discussion by sparing Thurgood Marshall Elementary from closing — at least for now — and leaving Montlake Elementary and TOPS K-8 in place.

While the changes won't please everyone, they're expected to dampen the controversy as the Seattle School Board moves toward hearings and a vote this summer. The committee did not recommend any school for closure that was not on its preliminary list.

The new recommendations call for closing 10 buildings in all — one short of the target set by the School Board. The district hasn't closed schools in nearly 20 years despite falling enrollment and a multimillion-dollar budget gap, though closures are expected to save little toward the deficit.

In evaluating schools, the committee looked at a number of criteria, including building condition, academics and family satisfaction. At its recent hearings, Committee Co-Chairwoman Mona Bailey said, the committee caught the brunt of the anger from parents in the Central Area's historically underserved demographic groups. In the past, she said, major changes in the district have been made "off the backs" of students there.

"It was like déjà vu for those families to hear, 'Here we go again,' " she said. "I think our memory hadn't faded on that. When we made the preliminary recommendations, we knew that we were not quite settled about it, but we knew that we needed to close a school in the Central Area."

But the committee sparked accusations of racism when it chose Thurgood Marshall, a mostly African-American school with a relatively new building.

The School Board had asked the committee to close three schools in the Northeast/Central quadrant of the district, using Interstate 5 and I-90 as boundaries. In backing off Thurgood Marshall, the group closed only two in the quadrant: Martin Luther King and Sacajawea elementaries. The committee recommends the district study the Central Area and choose an elementary school to close — T.T. Minor (which will take students from Martin Luther King next year), Thurgood Marshall, Leschi or Bailey Gatzert.

Superintendent Raj Manhas said that won't happen in time for the 2007-08 school year.

The committee's other changes are:

• In West Seattle, Fairmount Park and High Point elementaries would merge in High Point's building. Originally, both programs were to be eliminated and their students dispersed.

• Summit K-12 and the programs at Wilson-Pacific would remain in their respective buildings. Summit K-12 was initially slated to move into Wilson-Pacific.

• Pathfinder K-8 would move into the Boren building, a former school in West Seattle. In the earlier plan, Pathfinder was to move to the High Point building.

Several members of the School Board said they wouldn't comment on the recommendations until Manhas releases his list.

"I'm impressed by the idea of really going deeper and asking the people already involved in those four or five schools to sit down and look much more closely at what their assets are," said School Board President Brita Butler-Wall.

Bailey said the committee was surprised by the controversy two proposed moves generated, namely Montlake and TOPS. Saving Thurgood Marshall now allows TOPS to stay in the Seward building, and keeps Montlake in its own building, rather than moving it to Seward.

"From the very beginning, the board tried to weave into the process minimizing disruption to the community, and I'm afraid that one did not pass that test," board member Michael DeBell said.

Bailey said she and Co-Chairman Ken Alhadeff visited Thurgood Marshall and agreed it would not have been a good place for TOPS. Parents argued that the fairly new elementary-school building would be too small and didn't have the labs, gym space and auditorium space TOPS needs.

Galen Motin Goff, a parent and spokeswoman for TOPS, said school supporters were as shocked that TOPS was removed from the revised list as they were to be included in the first place. "I'm just elated, so happy. Wow," she said. "We were just prepared for the worst. We felt we were in a vulnerable position."

Harriet Bakken, a Montlake parent and past PTA president, said everyone remains worried about Montlake's future given that the school is housed in an old building with a small capacity.

"The School Board could easily decide to put us back on the list," Bakken said. "We just hope they look at the demographics and realize there's really no place nearby to put our kids."

Parents at Graham Hill and Sacajawea elementaries also protested closure, but those schools remain on the list; Sacajawea parents said they will continue to fight.

"We are going to rally our troops again and make sure the superintendent is hearing everything we have been saying at the town-hall meetings," said Brenda Krusemark, Sacajawea's PTA co-president.

Bailey predicted that, despite the committee's changes, the School Board is in for even more lively meetings than the committee faced. More than 2,500 people showed up to the committee's 10 town-hall meetings, many carrying signs and wearing matching T-shirts.

"It isn't going to get any easier," Bailey said. "At the end of the day the board must decisively use every ounce of leadership to do what is best for all 46,000 students in the Seattle school district."

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246