April 22 Rally Against School Closures
Eighteen months after the calamitous school closure announcements of 2024, some parents and community members are worried that SPS winds are beginning to blow once again in the direction of closures. They are holding a rally at the next school board meeting to oppose closures. The rally is at 3pm on April 22, outside of the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (also known as JSCEE, where the board meeting will be held at 4:15pm).
To be clear: No closures have been announced, nor are closures being publicly considered at this time.
Nevertheless, Chris Jackins, one of the rally’s organizers, told me when we spoke that he is concerned about recent comments made by Superintendent Shuldiner. He pointed to a Seattle Times article in which Shuldiner is quoted as saying, “It is tough because (closing a school) is a big deal for people…But in all reality, 50,000 kids in 100-plus schools is imbalanced when you compare it to pretty much any school district in America.” The flyer advertising the rally points out that the superintendent’s previous district in Michigan has a school balance very similar to Seattle’s.
Shuldiner’s “Sunday emails”—which I personally appreciate as a functional and symbolic shift toward transparency—have included closure-adjacent nods as well. In the May 29 issue, Shuldiner’s list of things that aren’t going well in the district started with, “brand new, beautiful buildings that are half or even ⅔ empty,” followed immediately by, “old and dilapidated buildings close to capacity.”
It doesn’t take a genius to connect these dots. Sac, which is very obviously dilapidated, was meant in 2024 to merge into John Rogers, which is brand new and still more than half empty.
Concerned parents and community members want to get ahead of district momentum when it comes to closures.
Sara, a retiree living in the Sac neighborhood, told me that she plans to attend the rally to send a signal to the district that closures will be fiercely opposed. Her daughter attended Sacajawea in the mid-aughts, when SPS last tried to close the school. Sara was part of the successful fight against closure back then, organizing rallies and speaking with media.
Another Sac parent, this one with kids currently at the school, is going further and helping to organize the rally itself. She said that her family’s switch to Sac has been transformational for her kids, who finally feel comfortable attending school. This is something she is willing to fight to protect.
If you’d like to add your voice to the mix, here are the rally details once again:
WHEN: Wednesday, April 22, 3pm. The associated board meeting starts at 4:15pm, but there is no expectation that rally-goers attend the meeting.
WHERE: John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence. The rally will be outside of JSCEE, which is the SPS central administration building in SODO where school board meetings are held.
See you there!