The Tacoma School Board will hear a proposal on possible elementary school closures at its regular meeting this evening.
Six elementary schools have been identified as possible closure candidates: Franklin, Lyon, McKinley, Roosevelt, Stanley and Wainwright. Each had an enrollment of fewer than 300 students at the beginning of this year, and projected enrollments next year are fewer than 250 per school. One likely scenario, according to district officials, would consolidate three or four elementary schools next year.
Superintendent Art Jarvis in January put forward the idea of closing schools as a way to balance the district budget in the wake of major cuts expected from the state.
But the district must weigh the urgency of trimming next year’s budget with future needs. Tacoma currently has the capacity to house 3,000 more elementary students than it has today, according to budget information on the district website. Over the next five years, however, projections indicate elementary enrollment will increase. Some of those small schools might have to reopen.
The school board will hear a report Thursday from Jarvis on the possibility of elementary school closures. He will also update the board on other cost-saving measures, including increasing class sizes and potential administrative savings. Increasing class size would likely mean a decrease in teaching positions districtwide.
Jarvis estimates the budget gap for the coming school year will be around $13.5 million. He has proposed an estimated $5 million in cuts to ongoing programs, along with about $8 million in cuts to programs paid for with one-time funding, including federal stimulus dollars. More budget slashing would follow in the next two school years, if anticipated state cuts materialize.
Jarvis originally suggested closing Foss High School – the city’s smallest comprehensive high school – as part of the $5 million in ongoing cuts, but public opposition helped take the Foss idea off the table.
The district estimates closing an elementary school would save about $500,000 per school. It has not yet been said how many of next year’s closures would be permanent, and how many might be temporary.
One low-enrollment elementary campus that officials don’t want to close is Geiger. The school is in the process of transforming itself into a Montessori school, which officials believe will boost enrollment.
The district plans a series of community meetings on the subject of the elementary closures. Dates and locations could be announced after tonight. The school board’s regular meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the district’s central administration building.
Also during the regular meeting, the board will hold a public hearing on a proposal to declare three properties surplus: the unused Willard School site on South D Street, undeveloped property located at the intersection of Cirque Drive West and Alameda Avenue West, and Camp Joshua Taylor in Longbranch.
Before the regular meeting, the board will hold a 5:15 p.m. study session, where no votes will be taken. That session will focus on methods for evaluating the effectiveness of a variety of district programs.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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