Seattle Public Schools is currently facing a substantial budget shortfall of over $100 million, necessitating the proposed closure of 20 elementary schools. To discuss these contentious cuts, the district is holding a meeting tonight at Roosevelt High School. Financial difficulties are not unique to Seattle; districts across Washington State, from North Sound to South Sound, are similarly struggling.

In Tacoma, the district is dealing with a $15 million budget deficit, leading to the proposed elimination of career-guidance counselors. During a recent, heavily attended school board meeting, parents and students voiced their dissatisfaction and concern.

One parent highlighted the negative impact on vulnerable students, stating, “Losing these positions is going to impact Tacoma’s most marginalized students.” A teacher added, “Much of the work of the displaced members will fall on the plates of already overworked and overloaded educators.”

Tacoma Public Schools responded by emphasizing their efforts to avoid cuts that directly affect classrooms or lead to staff layoffs. They explained, “For the 2024-2025 school year, we decided to shift our career guidance specialists into different roles. There are currently four Career Guidance Specialists across TPS; each will be assigned a new role, but their building locations are not yet determined. No one currently in the role of career guidance specialist is being laid off.”

In Marysville, the district is facing an $18 million deficit. The situation has prompted protests from parents, teachers, and paraeducators, who accuse the superintendent of mismanagement and are calling for his contract not to be renewed. The teachers’ union recently reiterated their “no confidence” vote in his administration, especially as Marysville is being cut from the Washington Schools Insurance Risk Management Pool due to unpaid legal settlements and poor building maintenance.

J Hooman, a Marysville Pilchuck alumna and district parent, commented on the insurance issue: “At this point in time, we do not have insurance protection. To my knowledge, there has never been a district within Washington State that’s been dropped from their insurance coverage.” She predicts the district will have to pay up to 30% more for replacement insurance and claims to have found documents showing a lack of transparency, suggesting the district has been inflating numbers to obscure the true extent of their financial problems.

Hooman believes the core issue is a lack of accountability and insufficient checks and balances from the state. She suspects the budget struggles in various districts are linked to declining public school enrollment. “I think the big majority of schools that are facing issues like this have banked on inaccurate enrollment numbers,” she said.