Seattle Schools Start Merger Talks as Enrollment Falls Below 50,000

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner opened formal discussions on merging schools on Sunday. The district’s student count has dropped below 50,000, a threshold that triggered these new conversations.

Shuldiner cited specific operational issues in a letter to parents. He described schools where students learn in buildings without interior walls. He also noted campuses forced to combine grades six, seven, and eight. One K-8 school has fewer than 50 students, while a K-5 school has fewer than 120.

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

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

The district delayed these talks until it finalized a three-year contract with the Seattle Education Association. That contract was ratified in September. It set staffing levels and class ratios. It also provided teacher wage increases of 8.8% to 9.8% over three years. Paraeducators received nearly 11% in raises.

Shuldiner said the district inherited a structural budget deficit. The district reduced spending by roughly $50 million earlier this year. Despite those cuts, the district operates with a shortage of funds. No specific list of schools currently under consideration has been released to the public.