Board to vote on Seattle school-closure recommendations on Jan. 29

The tough calls about how many — and which — Seattle schools to close now move from Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson to the School Board.

Goodloe-Johnson announced her final recommendations Tuesday — a list that's smaller than one she proposed about a month ago but would affect about 1,775 students.

"These are very difficult decisions," she said. "But facing them together as a community will help all of us."

Lowell Elementary and Alternative School No. 1, on her original list, did not end up in her final proposal. Neither did several schools she'd considered adding along the way. Those included Montlake Elementary and Rainier Beach High, which she brought up in early December, then quickly dropped.

Thornton Creek Elementary also will not relocate, despite discussion that it might move north to the building that now houses Summit K-12.

The reasons for the changes varied, from worries about closing too many schools in Seattle's North End, to logistical decisions about which program would fit where.

In the end, she said, she and the staff members who crafted the proposal came to consensus. And as hard as closing schools can be, she said she's confident that the end result will be a stronger school district.

"We have to make the best decisions we can for students," she said, "and that's exactly what we did."

The school district, she said, has more schools than it can justify for its 45,000 students. The goal, she said, is to save money and strengthen academics by running fewer, fuller schools.

As they considered which schools — and how many — Goodloe-Johnson said staff members asked a series of questions, such as: Which moves could strengthen academics? Use resources more efficiently? Provide quality programs closer to where students live?

The criteria they used also included the condition of the school's building, the number of students and other schools in the area, plus the school's academic record.

In all, Goodloe-Johnson is recommending closing five schools: the African American Academy in Southeast Seattle, Cooper Elementary in Southwest Seattle, Meany Middle and T.T. Minor elementaries in Central Seattle and Summit K-12 in North Seattle.

She's also proposing moving eight schools or parts of schools to new sites. Van Asselt Elementary, for example, would move into the African American Academy's much newer building, and Van Asselt would close.

The NOVA alternative high-school program and the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (BOC) for middle- and high-school immigrants would move to Meany Middle School's building, and Meany's program would be discontinued.

One new school also would be created: a new elementary-middle school combination at Summit K-12's site. Summit is still scheduled to close.

Parents and staff members from schools no longer under consideration expressed relief.

"I am very, very happy about it," said Ernie Seevers, principal of Alternative School No. 1. "I have to admit that it feels good to know that we have a future."

But he also said his happiness was a "guilty pleasure," given that other schools are still on the list.

His school will undergo some changes, however. Because it has failed to meet test-score goals under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, district staff said Tuesday that Alternative No. 1 will be restructured. It's not clear yet what that would mean.

Some parents from schools still on the list said Tuesday they'll continue to lobby the School Board, which is scheduled to vote on the matter Jan. 29.

"We are going to continue to fight between now and when the final votes are made," said Andre Helmstetter, vice president of the PTSA at T.T. Minor Elementary.

"We think it's a bad decision, and that T.T. Minor is becoming a really good school."

A new group with representatives from about a half-dozen schools also is collecting signatures on a petition asking the board to fight for more school funding rather than close schools.

Closing schools won't solve the district's financial challenges. To balance the district's budget for the 2009-10 school year, officials expect they will need to cut at least $24 million in expenses.

In addition to closing schools, the district is looking at trimming central-office expenses by $5 million, reducing the amount of money it distributes to schools by $4 million, saving $2 million through a hiring freeze, and cutting $2 million in transportation expenses, among other cost-cutting measures.

Some critics question whether the district should close schools at all, given the district's estimate that it would save about $3.6 million a year by doing so.

However, district officials said they expect Goodloe-Johnson's proposal, if adopted, to save $16.2 million over the next five years, even after they spend $2 million to close buildings and relocate schools.

Officials also expect to avoid about $33 million in maintenance costs.

Some also have criticized Goodloe-Johnson's for publicly announcing schools that were under consideration for closure, saying it was evidence that the district is disorganized or bending to the will of one school community or another.

On Tuesday, she said that's not true.

"We chose to be collaborative ... rather than make decisions behind closed doors," she said. If asked whether she'd do it the same way again, she said she would.

She said she is confident the district would lose fewer families than it did the last time it closed schools in 2006.

The district doesn't know exactly how many students left because of those closures, but about 20 percent from the affected schools left the district.

The district plans to work closely with families and staff to ease the transitions, she said.