Our position
- Keep great public schools open. Schools anchor communities. Families need stability to plan years ahead. Closure threats weaken trust and push families away.
- Closures won’t fix the budget. Other districts have lost students and funding to large-scale closures. Promised efficiencies haven’t fixed their budgets.
- Make public schools work for everyone. Maintain academic excellence and support every learner. Keep families from every socioeconomic background invested.
Save Seattle Schools
Public schools belong
in public life.
For public schools to work for anyone, they must work for everyone.
We are an independent advocacy and research project working to keep great public schools open. Schools anchor communities. Families plan homes, work and childcare around them years ahead. Repeated closure threats undermine that commitment.
We do not see a convincing financial case for Seattle’s closure plans. Operational convenience is not proof of savings. Our evidence examines the small savings and substantial disruption found in other districts.
Families with the most means have the most options to leave. Losing families puts enrollment, funding and public support at risk; further cuts can drive further exits. Seattle needs to break that cycle by making public schools work for wealthy and poor families alike, with more support where needs are greatest.
Families, students, staff and neighbors should shape their schools’ futures. Our school records document the 22 communities named across the 2024 closure alternatives.
Explore the school records