Cutting Stevens Elementary? You’re also cutting the Stevens Carnival (Image: CHS)

The whipsawing fate of Capitol Hill’s Stevens Elementary has the school once again on the district’s chopping block.

The North Capitol Hill campus is one of four on a list of planned Seattle Public Schools “consolidations” as the district has backed down from an initially more aggressive approach to a set of surgical strikes it says are necessary to address budget shortfalls.

“Like many districts across the state and nation, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is grappling with a persistent budget shortfall. Declining enrollment—driven by rising housing costs, the ongoing impact of COVID, and a shift towards home-based instruction and private schools—has compounded the issue. Additionally, state funding for public schools continues to fall short,” Superintendent Brent Jones writes as prelude to his latest attempt to put out a list of Seattle school closures that will stick.

Thursday afternoon, Jones announced a set of four planned consolidations — one in each region of the city — the superintendent says will be his “preliminary recommendation” to the Seattle School Board to help balance the district’s budget for the next school year. Stevens is proposed to be closed and its attendance area consolidated with nearby Montlake Elementary under the proposal:

• Northwest Region: Closing – North Beach Elementary
  Consolidating with Viewlands Elementary at Viewlands
• Northeast Region: Closing – Sacajawea Elementary
  Consolidating with John Rogers Elementary at John Rogers
• Central Region: Closing – Stevens Elementary
  Consolidating with Montlake Elementary at Montlake
• Southwest Region: Closing – Sanislo Elementary
  Consolidating with Highland Park Elementary at Highland Park

The latest twist in what has now been more than two years of worry for public school families across the city comes as the district backed off earlier plans to close more than 20 campuses and pursued a new process run by a consultant to “validate the evaluation process to ensure transparency and accountability” and determine which schools should be first to close based on five criteria:

• Building condition: Physical building safety and health levels  

• Learning environment: Facility’s design in support of all types of learning 

• Analyzing enrollment and capacity: Facility’s ability to hold 400+ students, including space for intensive IEP services and preschool classrooms 

• Minimizing disruption for students and staff: Facility’s ability to keep as many students and families together as possible 

• Maintaining student access to specialized service models: Facility’s ability to house the resources students need to thrive 

If SPS moves forward with the recommendations, the end for Stevens could be in the numbers. The campus reached a peak enrollment of just over 400 in 2013 when the district adjusted area attendance boundaries to address concerns about overcrowding at the school.

A Stevens shutdown would end more than 100 years of public education on the campus and raise questions of what will happen to the landmarked property where a Stevens school has welcomed children since 1906. The campus buildings have been overhauled and seismically improved in recent decades. Its large blacktop schoolyard is surrounded by single-family style homes in one of the wealthiest areas of the city.

Just a few blocks south, the private Catholic St. Joseph School has been working on expansion plans but those have been expected to focus on its existing land and nearby properties around its 18th and Aloha campus.

SPS last went through rounds of campus closures a decade ago that included cuts for Capitol Hill and Central District communities. CHS reported here in 2013 as plans began moving forward to reopen Capitol Hill’s Meany Middle School campus after it had been shuttered during a round of economic belt tightening.

In previous cutbacks, the district closed schools but kept campuses busy by shifting programs or leasing the properties to private and charter schools. By 2016, the district was reopening its shuttered or repurposed Capitol Hill and Central District area campuses. During the shuffling a decade ago, private schools like Hamlin Robinson leased facilities like E Union’s TT Minor campus until the district said it needed the properties back.

Stevens-area kids would be split to E Mercer’s Lowell Elementary — or Montlake where Seattle Public Schools is making its capital investments in the area. With long-term projections showing continued demand in Central Seattle, SPS is overhauling and expanding the Montlake Elementary campus as a centerpiece in the system.

The district responded to public outcry last month by slicing the planned number of campuses to be closed from more than 20 to five. Now, the list is down to four.

Cuts in state funding and a forecast for a continued near-term drop in enrollment has the district scrambling to cover what has been expected to be a $131 million budget deficit for the current school year with continued financial shortfalls expected over coming years.

But there is growing pushback on the closure plans as the district’s forecasts have been thrown into doubt and analysis of 2024 attendance shows many schools were at capacity across the city.

In his announcement of the latest proposed cut list, Jones said the district’s current projections would represent a $94 million — down significantly from previous forecasts. Jones said his office is also pursuing additional avenues to bridging any deficit including calling for legislative assistance at the state level, “identifying operational reductions within our central office, including staff reorganizations and adjustments,” and adjusting bell times to cut district transport costs.

Jones said his office is also initiating an enrollment study in an effort “to attract more families back to SPS,”

“This study, expected to be completed by December, will guide our efforts in recruitment and retention, helping us build a stronger, more vibrant school community,” Jones writes.

Any analysis should also include a good hard look at the impact campus closures — and back and forth threats — are having on the district’s families.

Last week, CHS reported on an open letter signed by 170 people from Capitol Hill with testimonials about why Stevens should not be closed. The letter provides responses to how Stevens meets or exceeds the district’s needs under the criteria it says it is using to determine the cuts.

“Stevens is the most active and accessible school in the district. SDOT assessed in June 2024 that 70% of our students traveled to school safely by foot, bike and transit every day,” the letter reads.

As for what comes next, the district is pointing toward its meetings on the proposed shutdowns. Parents are looking across the country at other examples of big West Coast cities faced with a similar budget pinch. In San Francisco, the district just put its planned closures on hold. The whipsaw there caused the district superintendent their job. Here, the All Together for Seattle Schools group says it opposes SPS’s ongoing closure process and the shutdowns won’t solve the budget woes.

“We know SPS does not intend to stop with four closures. SPS leaders have been clear that they still want to close up to 20 schools in future years,” the group said Thursday. “We remain committed to opposing school closures, cuts in the classroom, and further degradation and elimination of programs. Rather than make closures that harm students and won’t come close to addressing our budget gap, SPS should join us in asking the legislature to close the entire budget deficit for districts across Washington State.”

For Stevens families and those at. the other three schools currently on the recommended closure list, the district is scheduled to hold “engagement sessions” offering “in-person support” weekly through November 23rd. A district information session has been scheduled for Thursday, November 14th from 6:30 to 7:30 PM to discuss the plan.

“We understand this change is difficult. We chose these schools based on factors like building condition, space, and the goal of minimizing disruption to students and families. A dedicated transition team will be working with the impacted communities to ensure a smooth and supportive process for everyone involved,” Jones writes. “We recognize the deep connection that our community has with its schools, and we are committed to a thoughtful and transparent process.”

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