Seattle Public Schools Opens Merger Talks as Enrollment Falls Below 50,000

Families in Seattle Public Schools will face changes to their children's educational settings as the district begins formal discussions on merging campuses. Superintendent Ben Shuldiner stated in a letter to parents that the district has dropped below 50,000 enrolled students, a threshold that triggers a review of building assignments and staffing models.

The district previously delayed these negotiations until it finalized a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Seattle Education Association. The contract, ratified in September, set wage increases ranging from 8.8% to 9.8% for teachers and nearly 11% for paraeducators over the three-year period. It also established specific parameters for class sizes and staffing levels. Shuldiner noted that the district is operating with a structural budget deficit after cutting approximately $50 million in costs earlier this year.

In his letter, Shuldiner described current conditions at several schools, including facilities where students learn in spaces without interior walls. He cited specific examples, such as a K-8 school with fewer than 50 students and a K-5 school with fewer than 120 students. He also pointed to campuses struggling with split-grade classrooms, where multiple grade levels share a single teacher.

Shuldiner said he will visit the staff and executive directors of all potentially affected schools this week. Family meetings at proposed receiving schools are scheduled from November through mid-December. A formal list of merger proposals 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 is expected to 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 deadline until one week after the final board decision.

Shuldiner did not release a specific list of schools currently under consideration. He 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 the district aims to avoid large class sizes and single-teacher grade levels through these changes.