School Capacity Review and Closure Consideration (SCRCC) Frequently Asked Questions

It is estimated that closing a K-5 school would save $1.3 million in the first year of closure, with that savings likely increasing each year as the saved costs would rise with inflation and any increases in salary and benefits over time.

A breakdown of the costs included in the $1.3 million estimate can be found on slide 4 of the June 18, 2024 School Board presentation.

The cost savings will largely benefit the district’s General Fund, contributing to the district’s efforts to establish a financially stable budget and continue providing high-quality educational services to the Shoreline and Lake Forest Park communities.

There may be costs that follow the closure of a school, such as an increase in transportation costs if students who currently walk to school would need transportation to another school if their school closed; or some staffing costs if an individual school received a large number of students following the closure of another. The transportation costs would be offset by additional revenue to the district for more “student miles” driven. These costs will be further defined as we begin to review potential boundary adjustments associated with a closure. In addition, there are costs associated with the maintenance of a building, even if closed.  However, these costs are more than offset by the savings that come with a closure. Currently, the estimated savings from a closure are approximately $1.3 million annually.

Class sizes will not necessarily increase if a school is closed. In fact, it could alleviate some of the large class sizes seen in the 2023-24 school year, depending on the number of students enrolled in each grade at each school. 

Hypothetically, if School A would have 62 fifth graders without a school closure, this would likely result in two classrooms of 31 students, possibly increasing if additional fifth-grade students moved into that school’s boundary during the school year. If School B were closed and School A received 46 fifth graders as a result, this would mean 108 fifth graders at School A, likely split into classrooms of about 27 students each. In this hypothetical scenario, a school closure would result in smaller class sizes at School A.

The district is working to develop a long-term plan for property use; however, selling a property/building or renting space does not generate revenue for the district’s General Fund.

The school facility will remain as part the of the district's property, and its use could include something like we've done with the North City building, which has housed other schools while their buildings are being renovated or rebuilt, served as a site for third-party use, and was used as the district’s COVID testing site.

The demographer’s report explored this question in detail and included information that large numbers of families with school-age children are not anticipated to move into the housing that is being built in the area. Put simply, most of the units around light rail are too small and too expensive for most families to choose. There will be some families with school-age children in apartments, of course, but they are not predicted in the large numbers that one might assume. Declining birth rates and the increased costs of single-family homes and rent in the region are contributing to lower enrollment in Shoreline and nearby school districts.

We are looking at future development in all the attendance areas to help us estimate future enrollment and possible growth. All development that is in the pipeline near the light rail is also being considered in the projections.

During the 2022-23 school year, as significant budget reductions were being considered, many members of the Shoreline School District community asked the school district to explore the possibility of closing a school. At the time, the district did not have the capacity to take on this work, and it was shared that there is approximately an 18-month period required to properly conduct the process of considering, planning, and implementing a school closure. 

During the 2023-24 school year there has been an opportunity for staff, family, and community members to serve on a task force; a place for questions to be submitted; public presentations to the School Board (recordings and presentations available online); and communication sent to staff, families, and secondary students. Additionally, public comment has been submitted at or ahead of School Board meetings, and at community conversations in spring of 2024, at which community members shared their input, questions, and concerns about the consideration of closing a Shoreline elementary school.

Staff, students, families and community members can give input in the following ways:

• Public comment in person or via Zoom at a School Board meeting

• Written public comment submitted ahead of a School Board meeting (link to submit is posted no later than the Friday before each regular board meeting).

• Send a message to the School Board and Superintendent Reyes at: school.board@ssd412.org

If the School Board decides in fall 2024 to close an elementary school, there will be public hearings during the 90 days before a school district’s final decision, which is anticipated to be no later than January 2025.

Task force scores are one element of the group’s consideration for which schools to consider for possible closure, but not the only metric being used to make voting decisions. We will not share the scores publicly because when viewed as a standalone measure, the scores do not reflect the complexity of the analysis and work of the group or all of the factors that members take into account when voting.

The seven criteria created and used by the task force are:

• District Capacity: Closure of the school is not likely to result in a lack of classroom space for students in the district within the next 5 years (based on medium growth projections).

• Facilities and Operations: School has relatively high maintenance and operations costs and/or is more challenging to maintain.

• Impact on Populations of Students and Families: Closure of the school does not have a disproportionate and negative impact on a historically marginalized group/community of students and families.

• Impact on Programs: Closure of the school does not result in significant, negative impact on one or more district programs (Special Education, Title I, Multilingual Learners, Dual Language, Highly Capable).

• Middle School Enrollment: Closure of the school and related boundary adjustments do not significantly change middle school enrollment patterns.

• State and Federal Funding Distribution: Closure of the school does not have a significant, negative impact on students and families served by state and federal programs.

• Transportation: Closure of the school and related boundary adjustments do not significantly increase travel times for students, and transportation changes do not disproportionately impact historically marginalized families.

We are currently planning community engagement in the fall that will likely include surveys of families and/or forums to inform final recommendations and our boundary review process that is tentatively scheduled to begin in September/October 2024.

Task force members have learned about what programs are offered, how many students are served, where they are located, and any special resources or staffing that the program might require. They have also learned a bit about the funding for these programs and if/how those might be affected by a possible school closure.

One of the seven criteria created by the task force and being used in their work is “Impact on Programs,” and its description reads: Closure of the school does not result in significant, negative impact on one or more district programs (Special Education, Title I, Multilingual Learners, Dual Language, Highly Capable).

The task force has not begun evaluating the remaining schools for final selection. To date, they have only voted to remove schools from consideration and have not yet collectively considered the remaining four in more depth. 

One of the seven criteria created by the task force and being used in their work is “Impact on Populations of Students and Families," and its description reads: Closure of the school does not have a disproportionate and negative impact on a historically marginalized group/community of students and families.

The Title I status of a school or its general socioeconomic status as a community is a strong consideration factor, but it is not the only criteria.  Task force members are looking at vast amounts of data and information, including but not limited to:

• school enrollment and projections

• building condition and improvements needed

• special programs

• geographic considerations

• operating and maintenance costs

• buildings’ capacities

If an elementary school in Shoreline School District is closed, the boundaries for when children attend school will be redrawn to balance enrollment to building capacity and for efficient transportation district-wide. There will likely be adjustments to the boundaries for most (if not, all) Shoreline elementary schools.

Yes, this will be attempted to the extent that it is possible.

It is in the school district and community's best interest to maintain well-operating, safe, and efficient school buildings, fields, and properties, even if they are not in use as a traditional school at the time. Facilities may be rented by third parties, are used by the community, could house another school while it is being renovated (such as Briarcrest is at North City), or would be better prepared to re-open should elementary school growth dictate in future years.

• Some money has been spent to provide the 21 task force members with binders and printed materials for reference in their work.
• Certificated and classified staff are paid an hourly rate for their time in the task force meetings (14 hours maximum per employee in spring 2024, if they attended all meetings); this compensation is expected to not exceed $6,000 for spring 2024 meetings.
• We paid Educational Data Solutions, LLC (Les Kendrick, Demographer) $8,300 for district demographic analysis including future enrollment projects and an analysis of the construction that is taking place in various neighborhoods of the district.

Shoreline School District cannot support or oppose specific legislation or candidates, nor can we encourage community members to vote or take action in any particular way.

For those who are interested in legislative advocacy, we recommend getting involved with your school’s PTA/PTSA, Shoreline Special Education PTSA, and the Shoreline PTA Council.

This question appears to be referencing work from two years ago. The 2,400 number references the pre-application phase units only. There were another 8,400 units that were already active and in the pipeline that were considered in the forecast. The number of units in the pipeline will fluctuate as projects are finished and new ones appear. Based on the latest data there are approximately 9,400 units in the pipeline that will impact the district over the next 7-8 years. This does not include the units that were completed in the last two years and are already occupied.

Out of respect for the task force members and to support their safety and ability to speak freely, none of the SCRCC meetings have been or will be available for remote viewing.

Meeting dates have been scheduled to fit within a window of time needed to complete the SCRCC process and begin boundary work by taking into account many factors, including task force member availability, holidays, and district events. Unfortunately, there will always be a conflict with some other meeting, event, or activity, such as the October 15 meeting that had to be scheduled at the same time as a School Board meeting.