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Public schools. Public promise.

SAVE SEATTLESCHOOLS.

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.

A school worth knowing

Decatur
Elementary.

A place for curiosity to grow.

Decatur’s campus has nurtured generations of learners in northeast Seattle. From its years hosting alternative education to its highly capable program, the school’s history reflects the value of offering different ways to learn. [1]

Get to know this school
Decatur Elementary, photographed 2000Wedgwood, Seattle
Decatur Elementary, 2000. Photo: © Mary Randlett / SPS Archives · Cropped
Wedgwood1–5Seattle Public SchoolsResearch updated October 9, 2026
School community established [1]
2017
Students · September 2026 [2]
201
Capital budget · 2026–27 [24]
$942K

01Community consent

Don’t close Decatur without community consent.

SPS included Decatur in both September 2024 closure alternatives. It was not among the final four schools recommended that October. The board withdrew that proposal in November 2024. [4][5][6]

The leadership has changed since then. The 2025 election brought Kathleen Smith and Jen LaVallee onto the board, alongside returning directors Vivian Song and Joe Mizrahi. [26] Brent Jones resigned in 2025. After Fred Podesta served as interim superintendent, Ben Shuldiner took over in February 2026. [27][28]

Plan for more students, not fewer schools. Rebuild trust, maintain academic excellence and help families discover what their local school offers. Give this community the stability and support to grow enrollment—and a direct say in its future.

The years after the proposals

  1. 190October 2024
  2. 173October 2025
  3. 201September 2026

SPS student headcounts [2]

02Nearby schools

Longer commutes. More crossings.

Closing a neighborhood school can mean longer school runs, time away from work and more busy streets for children to cross. Apparent savings to SPS are paid for in families’ time. Moving costs off the district’s books does not make them disappear.

Compare the 3 nearest SPS elementary or K–8 campuses to Decatur Elementary, ranked by driving distance. [3][18]

Four schools. Four neighborhood communities.

Walking routes from Decatur and available neighborhood attendance areas.

DecaturThornton CreekView RidgeWedgwood
DecaturNearby schoolsAttendance areasWalking routesArterial crossings

Option school; no attendance area · © SPS 2025–26 GIS [20] · 2026–27 attendance map [21] · © SDOT / King County [22] · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Route data (ODbL)

Travel time for families.

Campus to campus · Driving: round trip per drop-off or pickup · Walking & distances: one way

SchoolParent driving Round tripChild walking One wayArterial crossings On foot

Thornton Creek

4 min0.3 mi
5 min0.2 miNone mapped

View Ridge

8 min0.9 mi
14 min0.6 mi1 mapped crossings: NE 75TH ST

Wedgwood

14 min1.1 mi
21 min1.0 mi2 mapped crossings: 35TH AVE NE · 40TH AVE NE

Driving: 2× one-way estimate, without traffic · Walking routes [18][19]

03Enrollment

More kids in Seattle. Fewer in public schools.

Enrollment & the city

2010–2024 · Each line uses its own color-matched scale.

  • Decatur students
    1882024

    Left scale

  • Seattle children under 18
    109,5192024

    Right scale

  • Private K–12 share
    25.8%2024

    Right scale

Decatur enrollment, Seattle children and private-school share, 2010–2024Three lines share one timeline. Decatur students use the left scale, 0 to 400. The right-hand axis pairs blue labels for Seattle residents under 18, 0 to 150,000, with red labels for private K–12 share, 0 to 30 percent. All scales start at zero. Dashed segments and hollow points show linear interpolation for the missing 2020 city data. Exact values, survey margins and definitions are in Data & sources.010020030040000%50k10%100k20%150k30%Decatur students, 2017: 242Decatur students, 2018: 245Decatur students, 2019: 231Decatur students, 2020: 212Decatur students, 2021: 200Decatur students, 2022: 208Decatur students, 2023: 187Decatur students, 2024: 188Seattle children under 18, 2010: 95,293; 90% margin ±5,001Seattle children under 18, 2011: 98,585; 90% margin ±3,957Seattle children under 18, 2012: 97,199; 90% margin ±4,372Seattle children under 18, 2013: 100,535; 90% margin ±5,296Seattle children under 18, 2014: 99,837; 90% margin ±4,811Seattle children under 18, 2015: 99,795; 90% margin ±4,654Seattle children under 18, 2016: 105,996; 90% margin ±5,142Seattle children under 18, 2017: 114,411; 90% margin ±5,315Seattle children under 18, 2018: 111,713; 90% margin ±5,986Seattle children under 18, 2019: 110,672; 90% margin ±5,207Seattle children under 18, 2020: 104,893; linearly interpolated between neighboring yearsSeattle children under 18, 2021: 99,114; 90% margin ±5,548Seattle children under 18, 2022: 100,014; 90% margin ±5,563Seattle children under 18, 2023: 109,297; 90% margin ±5,966Seattle children under 18, 2024: 109,519; 90% margin ±6,349Private K–12 share, 2010: 19.4%; 90% margin ±2.7 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2011: 20.7%; 90% margin ±2.2 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2012: 22.1%; 90% margin ±2.8 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2013: 23.2%; 90% margin ±2.6 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2014: 19.9%; 90% margin ±2.3 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2015: 21.1%; 90% margin ±2.7 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2016: 21.2%; 90% margin ±2.7 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2017: 18.3%; 90% margin ±2.5 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2018: 21.7%; 90% margin ±2.2 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2019: 21.8%; 90% margin ±2.4 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2020: 23.3%; linearly interpolated between neighboring yearsPrivate K–12 share, 2021: 24.9%; 90% margin ±3.5 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2022: 17.3%; 90% margin ±2.2 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2023: 25.1%; 90% margin ±2.6 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2024: 25.8%; 90% margin ±3.4 percentage points (approx.)2010201520202024Decatur enrollment, Seattle children and private-school share, 2010–2024Three lines share one timeline. Decatur students use the left scale, 0 to 400. The right-hand axis pairs blue labels for Seattle residents under 18, 0 to 150,000, with red labels for private K–12 share, 0 to 30 percent. All scales start at zero. Dashed segments and hollow points show linear interpolation for the missing 2020 city data. Exact values, survey margins and definitions are in Data & sources.010020030040000%50k10%100k20%150k30%Decatur students, 2017: 242Decatur students, 2018: 245Decatur students, 2019: 231Decatur students, 2020: 212Decatur students, 2021: 200Decatur students, 2022: 208Decatur students, 2023: 187Decatur students, 2024: 188Seattle children under 18, 2010: 95,293; 90% margin ±5,001Seattle children under 18, 2011: 98,585; 90% margin ±3,957Seattle children under 18, 2012: 97,199; 90% margin ±4,372Seattle children under 18, 2013: 100,535; 90% margin ±5,296Seattle children under 18, 2014: 99,837; 90% margin ±4,811Seattle children under 18, 2015: 99,795; 90% margin ±4,654Seattle children under 18, 2016: 105,996; 90% margin ±5,142Seattle children under 18, 2017: 114,411; 90% margin ±5,315Seattle children under 18, 2018: 111,713; 90% margin ±5,986Seattle children under 18, 2019: 110,672; 90% margin ±5,207Seattle children under 18, 2020: 104,893; linearly interpolated between neighboring yearsSeattle children under 18, 2021: 99,114; 90% margin ±5,548Seattle children under 18, 2022: 100,014; 90% margin ±5,563Seattle children under 18, 2023: 109,297; 90% margin ±5,966Seattle children under 18, 2024: 109,519; 90% margin ±6,349Private K–12 share, 2010: 19.4%; 90% margin ±2.7 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2011: 20.7%; 90% margin ±2.2 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2012: 22.1%; 90% margin ±2.8 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2013: 23.2%; 90% margin ±2.6 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2014: 19.9%; 90% margin ±2.3 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2015: 21.1%; 90% margin ±2.7 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2016: 21.2%; 90% margin ±2.7 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2017: 18.3%; 90% margin ±2.5 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2018: 21.7%; 90% margin ±2.2 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2019: 21.8%; 90% margin ±2.4 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2020: 23.3%; linearly interpolated between neighboring yearsPrivate K–12 share, 2021: 24.9%; 90% margin ±3.5 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2022: 17.3%; 90% margin ±2.2 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2023: 25.1%; 90% margin ±2.6 percentage points (approx.)Private K–12 share, 2024: 25.8%; 90% margin ±3.4 percentage points (approx.)20102012201420162018202020222024

Dashed segments interpolate the 2020 gap. Sources: NCES and Census ACS. [3][16][17]

Seattle’s under-18 population grew from about 100,000 in 2022 to 110,000 in 2024. Private schools’ share of K–12 enrollment rose from 21.8% in 2019 to 25.8% in 2024. [16][17]

Uncertainty weakens public schools.

Continued closure uncertainty gives families who can afford private school another reason to leave. With them go students, funding and advocates. Instead of protecting a safety net, we erode the public support that sustains it. Public schools need families from every socioeconomic background invested in their success.

2017–2024: the longer enrollment record
Decatur annual enrollment, 2017–2024NCES fall student headcounts. Dots mark reported observations; lines connect years.0100200300201720212024188Decatur annual enrollment, 2017–2024NCES fall student headcounts. Dots mark reported observations; lines connect years.050100150200250300201720212024188
NCES fall headcounts; school-year starting year
FallStudentsTeacher FTE
201724213
201824514
201923113
202021212
202120010
202220811
202318711
202418810

The series follows this school’s NCES identifier. Grade spans and programs have changed over time. [3]

Recent district enrollment counts
SPS P223 monthly headcounts; total includes preschool where present
Count dateAll studentsFunded students
October 2019231231
October 2020212212
October 2021200200
October 2022209209
October 2023188188
October 2024190190
October 2025173173
September 2026201201

September and October counts are different snapshots. [2]

04Public investment

Invest here. Then walk away?

Keep these investments working for students and their neighborhoods.

$1.3M

Recorded modernization spending

Through Dec. 2019 [23]

  • New-school modernization$1,314,991

$942K

Capital allocated this year

2026–27 adopted budget [24]

  • Fire suppression$702,456
  • Exterior cladding$239,591

Annual allocations cover one fiscal year; they are separate from total project costs.

BEX VI · 2026–31

Technology for this school.

Student and staff devices, digital learning and cybersecurity. [13]

Projects, amounts & sources

Earlier projects and levy plans

  • New-school modernization

    Through Dec. 2019 · BEX IV · Recorded spending [23]

    $1,314,991

Contracts shared with other schools

These amounts cover multiple schools and are excluded from this school’s totals.

  • Salmon Bay and Decatur seismic upgrades

    Shared final contract · 2019 [25]

    $1,648,510

Earlier SPS project listings [14]

  • 2016: Made earthquake safety upgrades.
  • 2012: Upgraded fire alarm system.

School spending.
District allocations.

School-coded spending is the annual operating expense recorded under the school’s own accounting code, including any shared costs assigned to it. The reported total includes a broader share of districtwide spending allocated to the school in the state’s expenditure report.

These figures show what SPS spent to serve students that year. A closure proposal must show which expenses would actually end, after accounting for transition costs, transportation and funding lost when families leave.

2024-25 actual expenditure

Spending coded to Decatur [8]

$2.23M

$2,232,604 · $11,803 per student FTE

Reported total, including district allocations [7]

$3.84M

$3,835,189 · $20,276 per student FTE

Per-student costs divide each total by 189.15 full-time-equivalent students, the school year’s average enrollment. [7][8]

6 years of reported actual spending
OSPI actual expenditure in nominal dollars
School yearSchool-coded spendingTotal with allocationsStudent FTEReported per pupil
2019-20—$3,471,222231.50$14,994
2020-21—$3,063,485210.11$14,580
2021-22—$3,467,058200.00$17,335
2022-23—$4,250,166208.30$20,404
2023-24$2,348,673$3,845,728187.80$20,478
2024-25$2,232,604$3,835,189189.15$20,276
9 years of budgets and funded staffing
School budget allocations and planned staffing; nominal dollars
School yearBudgetBudgeted studentsStaff FTEBudget per student
2017-18$1,925,1041817.9$106,950
2018-19$1,918,4431717.7$112,850
2019-20$2,009,66223416.7$8,588
2020-21$1,962,92221615.1$9,088
2021-22$1,769,22417813.2$9,939
2022-23$2,150,70121115.2$10,193
2023-24$2,416,44923416.3$10,327
2024-25$1,973,42515611.7$12,650
2025-26$2,467,23517715.7$13,939

Budget allocations are distinct from actual expenditure. 2025-26 budget: [9]

2017-18 source ↗2018-19 source ↗2019-20 source ↗2020-21 source ↗2021-22 source ↗2022-23 source ↗2023-24 source ↗2024-25 source ↗2025-26 source ↗

Teacher headcounts
OSPI teacher headcounts, distinct from funded staff FTE
School yearTeachersStudents in this report
2017-1818242
2018-1918245
2019-2018231
2020-2116212
2021-2214200
2022-2315209
2023-2417188
2024-2514190

[15]

05Learning

Student outcomes.

Academic excellence for every student builds families’ trust. Keep expectations high, give each learner the support to succeed and measure progress honestly. SPS should improve outcomes, not dilute the metrics used to judge them. That is how Seattle can become the nation’s No. 1 urban school district.

Share of tested students meeting the state standard, across tested grades. [10]

Suppressed

English language arts · 2025–26

Suppressed

Mathematics · 2025–26

Suppressed

Science · 2025–26

  • English language arts
  • Mathematics
  • Science
0%25%50%75%100%2021-222022-232023-242024-252025-260%25%50%75%100%2021-222022-232023-242024-252025-26
Assessment results by school year
General state assessments; percentage of tested students meeting standard
School yearELAMathScience
2017-18SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed
2018-19SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed
2021-22SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed
2022-23SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed
2023-24SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed
2024-25SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed
2025-26SuppressedSuppressedSuppressed

Suppressed results stay blank in the chart. Science assessments changed during this period; the trend above covers the current testing era. [10][11][12]

06History & community

Rooted in Wedgwood.

Decatur’s building opened in 1961 on former Navy housing land. It later housed Alternative Elementary #2, renamed Thornton Creek. After Thornton Creek moved into a new building, Decatur reopened in 2017 as the northeast home of the highly capable elementary program. [1]

  1. 1961

    Original Decatur school opened.

  2. 1989

    Alternative Elementary #2 moved into the building.

  3. 2016

    Thornton Creek moved into its new building.

  4. 2017

    The current Decatur program opened.

  5. 2019

    Seismic upgrades.

The current school’s enrollment series starts in 2017; earlier occupants had separate school records. [1]

07Research

Sources & citations.

  1. 01

    SPS / HistoryLink

    Building for Learning: school and building history, 2022

    Origins, building chronology and community history.

  2. 02

    Seattle Public Schools

    Monthly P223 enrollment reports

    October 2019–2025 and September 2026. Total headcount includes preschool where offered.

  3. 03

    NCES / Urban Institute

    Common Core of Data: annual school enrollment

    A consistent school identifier; grade spans and program locations can change.

  4. 04

    KUOW

    September 11, 2024: the two closure alternatives

    Option A named 21 schools; Option B named 17. Their union contains 22 distinct schools.

  5. 05

    Seattle Public Schools

    October 24, 2024: preliminary recommendations

    North Beach, Sacajawea, Sanislo and Stevens, with named receiving schools.

  6. 06

    Seattle School Board

    November 26, 2024: withdrawal record

    Board action on withdrawal of the preliminary school-closure recommendation.

  7. 07

    Washington OSPI

    Actual school-level expenditures, 2019–2025

    Report-card spending includes district allocations; denominator is annual-average student FTE.

  8. 08

    Washington OSPI

    F-196 expenditures by school location

    2023–24 and 2024–25 school-coded actuals. These may already include costs allocated by the district.

  9. 09

    Seattle Public Schools

    School budgets and funded staffing

    School allocations and planned staff FTE; separate from actual expenditures and employee headcounts.

  10. 10

    Washington OSPI

    State assessment results, 2021–2026

    All Students, All Grades, general assessments; percent meeting standard among tested students.

  11. 11

    Washington OSPI

    Historical state assessments, 2014–2017

    Different subjects/test regimes retained separately; suppressed results remain unpublished.

  12. 12

    Washington OSPI

    Historical state assessments, 2017–2019

    General assessments; results for tested students.

  13. 13

    Seattle Public Schools

    BEX VI: approved 2025 capital levy

    $1.8 billion districtwide, collected 2026–2031. School project lists are not school-specific expenditure totals.

  14. 14

    Seattle Public Schools

    School directory and levy projects

    School address, programs and dated building projects.

  15. 15

    Washington OSPI

    Teacher counts and student–teacher ratios

    Classroom teacher headcounts, 2017–18 through 2024–25; distinct from staff FTE.

  16. 16

    U.S. Census Bureau

    Seattle children: ACS B09001

    Seattle residents under 18, including preschool-age children; annual estimates through 2024.

  17. 17

    U.S. Census Bureau

    Seattle public and private enrollment: ACS B14002

    Private share of city residents enrolled in K–12. The 2020 chart gap is interpolated.

  18. 18

    Valhalla / FOSSGIS / OpenStreetMap

    Campus-to-campus route estimates

    Cached pedestrian and shortest-distance driving routes, October 2026. No live traffic in these source records.

  19. 19

    Seattle Department of Transportation

    Official arterial street classifications

    Principal, minor and collector arterial street geometry.

  20. 20

    Seattle Public Schools GIS

    Elementary attendance areas, 2025–26

    Published geographic boundaries; option schools do not have ordinary attendance areas.

  21. 21

    Seattle Public Schools

    Current district attendance-area reference

    2026–27 district PDF map; a separate vintage from the available GIS.

  22. 22

    King County GIS

    Major waterbodies

    Geographic context for the campus maps.

  23. 23

    Seattle Public Schools

    2019 capital annual report

    Recorded spending through Dec. 31, 2019. PDF pp. 31, 39–42, 50–51; printed pp. 28, 36–39, 47–48.

  24. 24

    Seattle Public Schools

    2026–27 adopted capital budget

    Annual project allocations, not lifetime costs or remaining balances. PDF pp. 185–187; printed pp. 178–180.

  25. 25

    Seattle Public Schools

    Salmon Bay and Decatur seismic work: final acceptance

    2019 closeout. Shared $1,648,510 paid contract; no school-level allocation.

  26. 26

    Seattle Public Schools

    New Directors Sworn in to Seattle School Board

    Dec. 8, 2025. Kathleen Smith and Jen LaVallee joined; Joe Mizrahi and Vivian Song continued after the November election.

  27. 27

    Seattle Public Schools Archives

    SPS directors and superintendents

    2025 revision, page 9. Brent Jones resigned in 2025; Fred Podesta served as interim superintendent.

  28. 28

    Seattle Public Schools

    New Superintendent Begins Tenure Leading Seattle Public Schools

    Feb. 2, 2026. Ben Shuldiner began leading the district.