Tacoma parents worried that their kids’ elementary school could be targeted for closure are expressing mixed emotions now that the district has said it will postpone closing schools for a year.

Parents at several schools said the delay gives them more opportunity to make the case that their children’s school should remain open.

“It doesn’t mean we can stop the work,” said Rebecca Richards, treasurer of Lyon Elementary School PTA. “It means we have more time.”

Tacoma school administrators had been planning to close two of the district’s 36 elementary schools by fall due to declining enrollment.

But at a meeting Tuesday night of an advisory committee studying which schools to recommend for closure, Superintendent Jim Shoemake announced the district will hold off on a decision until November or December. If district officials decide to shutter buildings, the schools would close at the end of the 2006-07 school year.

The decision came in response to concerns the district was moving too quickly, and that the issue was dividing community members.

Shoemake added that the district needs to focus on passing its four-year educational programs and operations levy, which failed last week. The levy, which provides more than 22 percent of the district’s operating budget, will likely be resubmitted on the April 25 ballot.

Shoemake emphasized the district must eventually close or consolidate schools to remain financially viable, and asked the committee to continue working on its recommendation. The group is expected to recommend several schools for closure Tuesday, choosing from a list of 11 they had developed earlier.

Wednesday morning, Lyon parents distributed fliers to let other parents know “Yes, it’s postponed, but we’re still on the list.”

Richards said Lyon supporters want to highlight for district officials the many positives about the East Side school, including its on-site, after-school day care, bus transportation to a Boys & Girls Club, safe environment and caring teachers.

“Maybe someone can come up with a way to redistribute funds so no one has to close,” Richards said.

Meanwhile, some Washington-Hoyt Elementary parents were disappointed with the delay. Many parents at the North End school were prepared for a committee recommendation to close their school, parent Jeff Ryan said.

“We’re all ready to resist closing Washington, to speak at public meetings, go to the School Board, to present the positive aspects of Washington and get it off the closure list,” he said. “By putting it off six months, it’s harder to get people motivated.”

A delay could also prompt prospective parents to decide against enrolling their kindergartners at Washington-Hoyt next fall, which would build a case for closing the school.

Among other things, Washington-Hoyt parents would like district officials to consider the high academic performance of their school.

“Both the committee and process are fatally flawed,” Ryan said. “The criteria … are too black and white. Schools that are performing well should at least have a check box.”

Parents at the Grant Center for the Expressive Arts, in the North End, will continue to mobilize. The parents, who formed the most visible contingent at Tuesday’s advisory committee meeting, plan to meet tonight, Grant parent Rich Wood said. They’ve already met with the Sixth Avenue Merchants Association, which wrote a letter urging the district to keep Grant open.

Grant, which focuses on the arts, has a dance studio and an art exhibition area in its building, Wood noted. “There are very unique programs involving music, drama, visual arts, and dance that would probably not exist if the school were closed and students divided amongst two or three other elementary schools,” he said.

Grant parent Barbara Morgan expressed a concern voiced by many critics of the closure process: that the district, by allowing anyone who applied to participate on the committee, ended up with overrepresentation for Downing Elementary and little or no representation for other schools.

“I’m hoping it will give time for a little more public discussion of what’s going on and make the process a little more transparent, a little more balanced,” she said. “An attempt should be made to draw people who represent all parts of the community.”

Next meeting: Though Tacoma school officials likely won’t close any elementary schools at the end of this academic year, an advisory committee is continuing to deliberate over which three or four elementary schools it should recommend for closure for the following year. The committee will meet from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the district Central Administration Building, fourth-floor auditorium, 601 S. Eighth St.

Schools at risk: The committee is giving the following schools first consideration for closure: Bryant, Downing, Lyon, McKinley, Wainwright and Washington-Hoyt. A second round of schools that the group will also consider: DeLong, Skyline, Roosevelt, Arlington and Grant.

More information: School Consolidation Advisory Committee meeting minutes, enrollment and other data can be viewed at www.tacomaschools.org.

To comment: People can comment on the school closure issue by calling the superintendent’s hotline at 253-571-1020 or posting comments at www.tacoma schools.org.

Debby Abe: 253-597-8694

debby.abe@thenewstribune.com