Fight back against school closures!

Seattle

While the U.S. government is arming and funding the Israeli settler state’s genocide against the Palestinians, Washington state is defunding social programs that the working class needs, including public schools that serve Indigenous communities. Specifically, the Seattle School District announced plans to close 20 public schools despite a large community opposition.

This attack is not just local, but is countrywide, since the federal Department of Education has been greatly defunded.

The school district says that it has a $100 million deficit. Parents reply that there has been little communication about how the district plans to do this. Seattle certainly has enough billionaires and corporate wealth that it’s absurd that there’s not enough money for schools.

All Together for Seattle Schools, a community opposition organization, has pointed out that the state has $1.2 billion in excess tax revenues that could also solve Seattle Public Schools’ budget crisis. All Together has held two big protest rallies of parents, students and teachers outside John Stanford school district headquarters.

Faced with the opposition, the district has now reduced its threat to close five schools instead of 20, but parents argue this could be the first of many closures and cuts that are still planned. 

One of the schools facing the threat is the Licton Springs K-8 school (kindergarten to 8th grade), which houses the program set up for Indigenous students, who have spoken out at school board meetings in opposition.

Indigenous people protest the closing of Licton Springs K-8 school which houses the Native American school program.
WW Photo: Jim McMahan