Community Meetings for Closure Schools Announced

 From SPS website:

Each school recommended for closure will have two community meetings. Initial meetings will take place on the dates below. 

  • Sacajawea Elementary – Thursday, Nov. 7, 6-7 p.m. at Sacajawea  
  • Sanislo Elementary – Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Sanislo 
  • Stevens Elementary – Friday, Nov. 15, 6-7 p.m. at Stevens 
  • North Beach Elementary – Monday, Nov. 18, 6-7 p.m. at North Beach 

A districtwide, online meeting will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 6:30 p.m.    

Please note: These are not public hearings. Those will be scheduled in December. These meetings are to support the individual impacted school communities.  

We want to make sure the impacted families have the chance to fully understand the recommendation, ask questions, and share ideas for how we could implement a potential closure and consolidation with care and support. 

SPS will host more engagement opportunities for the broader community.

So I assume the school communities named got the notice sooner than this.  I wonder if that is to discourage outsiders from coming into a public meeting at a public school to listen in. 

I would bet the second meeting for each school - again, not the public hearing - will be in January, either after the Board vote or right before it.

Like it or not, the Board and Superintendent both need to understand the need for information AND being heard from many parents throughout the district. They keep acting like no one else should be interested in the closures but the communities of the schools involved.

From the Times:

The district said the meetings are intended for the school communities that might close next year. It’s an opportunity for parents to get more information about the proposal and share their ideas, according to notes sent by principals to families. It is unclear whether similar meetings are planned for schools that will receive students because of closures.

As the Times points out, what about the receiving schools? Will there be district guidelines about how receiving schools managing the change or is it free-for-all with principals making key choices?

- Does everything about the closed schools go away? Name, mascot, school colors, etc.

- When will new boundary changes come? This will affect students throughout the district.

- When will new transportation changes come? Will also affect students throughout the district.

The district acts like it has a plan for all these but it very much feels like flying by the seat of their pants.

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