Enrollment Below 50,000 Triggers Merger Talks in Seattle Schools

Seattle Public Schools is moving to combine campuses as student counts have fallen below the 50,000 mark. Superintendent Ben Shuldiner announced the start of formal merger discussions on Sunday in a letter addressed to parents across the district.

The move follows the finalization of a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Seattle Education Association. The contract, ratified in September, sets staffing levels and class ratios while providing wage increases of 8.8% to 9.8% for teachers and nearly 11% for paraeducators. Shuldiner stated the district inherited a structural budget deficit and had previously reduced spending by roughly $50 million earlier this year.

In the letter, Shuldiner described specific conditions at various sites. He cited one K-8 school with fewer than 50 students and a K-5 school with fewer than 120. He noted that some students learn in buildings without interior walls, while others attend campuses with forced split-grade classrooms.

Shuldiner wrote, “I don’t want students to spend one more year in a building where bookcases serve as walls, if we don’t have to.” He added that he does not want students to remain in split sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes or for teachers to be the sole educator in a grade level.

The process will span several months. Shuldiner plans to visit the staff and executive directors of all potentially impacted schools this week. Family meetings at proposed receiving schools will take place from November through mid-December. A formal list of proposed mergers will then be presented to the Seattle School Board.

Communities will have a 60-day window for public hearings in January and February. The school board may take action on the proposals in late February or early March. Shuldiner pledged that displaced families will receive priority during open enrollment. The district will also extend the transfer application window until one week after a final board decision.

The superintendent has not publicly released a specific list of schools currently under consideration for mergers or closures. The full newsletter regarding the potential mergers is available on the Seattle Public Schools website.