Hint of changes in plan for Seattle school closures

Seattle Public Schools staff members and the School Board cast doubt on several of Superintendent Raj Manhas' school-closure recommendations Thursday.

Officials said they were re-examining proposals to close South Seattle's Graham Hill Elementary and move Pathfinder K-8 in West Seattle to the Boren building in Delridge. Those two proposals had generated some of the most fervent parent opposition over the past several weeks.

They also introduced two possible mergers: In South Seattle, Rainier View Elementary students could move to Emerson Elementary, which, under Manhas' plan is proposed to close; and in North Seattle, Viewlands Elementary could merge with Greenwood.

On June 2, Manhas recommended closing nine school buildings. He'll issue his final recommendations July 3 after a series of hearings, and Thursday's meeting revealed some of the first hints on which of those recommendations might change.

The School Board is scheduled to vote July 26.

The mergers suggested Thursday would cut down on the number of students who would be dispersed as a result of closures. One of the board's priorities as it moved forward was to limit disruption to students.

"I think this dispersing thing has just been on every board member's mind," President Brita Butler-Wall said.

Upcoming hearings

Seattle Public Schools has scheduled three days of hearings next week for public comment on Superintendent Raj Manhas' preliminary school-closure recommendations. The meetings will be in the buildings recommended for closure. All the meetings are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Monday South Shore (The New School) Commons, 8825 Rainier Ave. S.; Fairmount Park Elementary Cafeteria, 3800 S.W. Findlay St.; Viewlands Elementary Cafeteria, 10525 Third Ave. N.W.

Tuesday Graham Hill Elementary Cafeteria, 5149 S. Graham St.; E.C. Hughes Cafeteria, 7740 34th Ave. S.W.; Martin Luther King Elementary Cafeteria, 3201 E. Republican St.

Wednesday Orca at Columbia Cafeteria, 3528 S. Ferdinand St.; Genesee Hill (Pathfinder K-8) Cafeteria, 5012 S.W. Genesee St.; John Marshall Auditorium, 520 N.E. Ravenna Blvd.

Source: Seattle Public Schools

Board member Darlene Flynn criticized as institutionally racist the recommendation to keep Graham Hill Elementary's Montessori program intact while dispersing the rest of the school.

"I think this is a teachable moment," she said. "We sort of caught ourselves here treating two populations differently."

The Montessori program this past year enrolled 117 students, of which 38.5 percent were students of color. Of the remaining 236 students at the school, 94.5 percent were students of color.

Schools on the list would close in 2007-08 with the exception of M.L. King Elementary, which would merge with T.T. Minor in the fall. On Thursday, the board discussed allowing all students at schools scheduled to close to transfer to their new schools in the fall of 2006, especially those who are starting kindergarten.

The School District and board left several questions unanswered Thursday night.

Manhas said moving Pathfinder students to the Boren building "is in serious discussion right now," but he didn't say where Pathfinder students would move if their Genesee Hill building closes as planned.

And in Manhas' original recommendations, The New School was to move to Emerson. But if Emerson and Rainier View were to merge, that wouldn't be possible. Rainier View's 45-year-old building is in poor condition.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com